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THE 



FORGIVENESS OF SIN 



ILLUSTRATED IN A 



PRACTICAL EXPOSITION OF 
PSALM 130. 



BY JOHN OWEN, D. D. 

FOR SOME YEARS CHANCELLOR OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW-YORK. 



D. Fajwbaw, Printer. 



.fit 



Qlft 

Bertram Smith 
March 15, 1934 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 027659 




PREFATORY NOTICE, 

V* AND 



^ 



SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR'S LIFE, 



The following Treatise, which by many spiritual christians has 
been considered the best of Dr. Owen's works, is here divided into 
chapters, with heads indicating the subject of each, and showing at 
a glance in the Table of Contents the author's train of thought ; nu- 
merous repetitions in announcing his subdivisions are also omitted, 
and obsolete terms and phrases, in many cases, exchanged for others. 

It is recorded in reference to the origin of this work, that a young 
man. who afterwards became a minister of Christ, being under reli- 
gious impressions, came to Dr. Owen for counsel. In the course of 
conversation the Doctor asked, " Pray, in what manner do you think 
to go to God V 9 " Through the Mediator, sir," said the young man. 
To which Dr. Owen replied, " That is easily said; but it is another 
thing to go to God through the Mediator, than what many who use 
the expression are aware of. I myself preached some years when I 
had but very little, if any, experimental acquaintance with access to 
God through Christ, until the Lord was pleased to visit me with sore 
affliction, by which I was brought to the mouth of the grave, and 
under which my soul was oppressed with horror and darkness. But 
God graciously relieved my spirit by a powerful application of 
Psalm 130 : 4, ' There is Forgiveness with Thee that Thou may est be 
feared,' from whence I received special instruction, peace, and com- 
fort in drawing near to God through the Mediator ; and I preached 
thereupon immediately after my recovery." None who seriously and 
prayerfully read this Treatise will fail to discover the grounds and 
the appropriateness of the above appeal to an inquiring youth ; the 
rich sources from which the author has drawn Divine instruction, 
and its adaptation to the wants of every perishing soul. 

The great Owen was born at Stadham, Oxfordshire, England, in 
the year 1616, and died at Ealing, August 24, 1683, aged 67. He was 
contemporary with Bunyan, Baxter and Flavel, and shared in the 
bitter opposition they encountered for their non- conformity. 

His father being a clergyman, he received an early education, 
and at twelve was admitted a student of Queen's College, Oxford, 
where he graduated with honor, and continued the pursuit of study 
till the age of twenty-one, when new laws and regulations were im- 
posed on the University by Archbishop Laud, to which he could not 

Forgiveness, 



4- PREFATORY NOTICE. 

conscientiously submit. He commenced his labors in the ministry at 
Fordham, whence they were transferred to Coggeshall, and early 
began to write in defence of the truth. In 1643 he published his trea- 
tise " The Duty of Pastors and People Distinguished," showing the 
personal obligations of every believer to aid in spreading " the truth 
as it is in Jesus," and soon after a treatise founded on two short 
Catechisms for the benefit of the young. In 1646, being summoned 
to preach before Parliament, he boldly proclaimed the doctrines of 
the cross, and on numerous future occasions fulfilled the same duty 
with equal fidelity to God and the souls of men. 

One of these sermons introduced him to Cromwell, who appoint- 
ed him his chaplain ; and in 1651 he was elected by Parliament to the 
deanery of Christ Church. Oxford, and soon after was appointed 
by Cromwell Vice-Chancellor of that University. He continued his 
connection with Oxford for nine years until the death of Cromwell, 
when he was displaced. During this period i: the change in the cir- 
cumstances, literature and piety of the University were truly aston- 
ishing." His labors were great almost beyond parallel, and as suc- 
cessful as arduous. He also, while at Oxford, often preached before 
Parliament, and wrote many valuable works, including his treatises 
on " Divine Justice," on the Socinian Controversy, the "Mortifi- 
cation of Sin in Believers," on " Communion with God," and on 
"Temptation." 

In 1663 he was invited to settle as pastor of a church in Boston, 
the request being seconded by a respectful letter from the General 
Court of Massachusetts, and he was afterwards elected President of 
Harvard College, but he declined these invitations, and for several, 
years ministered to a church in London. From the time of his leav- 
ing Oxford to 1676, he published no less than twenty-two different 
works, among which are the treatises on " Psalm 130," on cl Indwell- 
ing Sin," on the " Trinity," the " Sabbath," the " Holy Spirit," and 
on " Apostacy." 

At length his health declined, and he retired to Kensington, and 
from thence to Ealing, where he closed his days in writing his " Me- 
ditations on the Glory of Christ." On the morning of the day he 
died, a friend called to tell him the work was.put to press. " I am glad 
to hear it," said the dying christian; and lifting up his hands and 
eyes, as if transported with joy, he exclaimed, " But, O ! the long 
wished-for day is come at last, in which I shall see that glory in an- 
other manner than I have ever done, or was capable of doing in this 
world." His published works comprise twenty-eight large octavo 
volumes ; the largest work being the Commentary on the Epistle to 
the Hebrews, which occupied his attention for sixteen years. 



CONTENTS. 



PARAPHRASE OF THE PSALM, AND PLAN OF THE WORK, 



Page 



Chap. 1. The Soul in the depths of sin, 



13 

16 



What these depths are, . . . . 
Whence it is that believers may be brought into 

them, . 22 

What sins do this, and their aggravation,* . . 30 

Chap. 2. Relief in God alone, 36 

Application to God alone, . . . .37 

Earnestness of this application, • ... 41 

Chap. 3. God^s Marking Iniquity, 48 

The soul filled with dread, . . . .51 

A sincere sense of sin, ..... 57 

Acknowledgment of sin, 62 

Self-condemnation, and justification of God, . 65 
Danger of resting in, or resting on this state, . 67 

Chap. 4. Discovery of Forgiveness, 71 

Exposition of the Doctrine of Forgiveness, . 71 

No approach to God without it, ... 74 

Greatness of the discovery of Forgiveness, . 76 

Testimonies of Conscience and the law against it, 76 
False presumptions of Forgiveness, . . .83 



CONTENTS. 

Page 

Chap. 5. Nature of Forgiveness, 89 

The gracious heart of the Father, ... 89 

The purpose of his grace, 93 

Propitiation in the blood of Christ, ... 96 

Forgiveness promised and applied, ... 99 

Revealed only to Faith, 102 

Chap. 6. Support from Forgiveness, 106 

Duty to seek assurance, ; 107 
Confidence of forgiveness in God, without 

personal assurance, . 108 

This confidence a great support, . . .110 

Chap. 7. Evidences of Forgive?iess, 123 

Not revealed in the works of God, but by spe- 
cial revelation, 124 

1. Evidence from the first promise, . . .128 

2. " from the institution of sacrifices, . 131 

3. j " from God's prescribing repentance, 134 

Chap. 8. Evidences of Forgiveness — continued, 141 

4. Examples of God's forgiveness, . . . 141 

5. His patience towards the world, . . . 147 

6. The faith and experience of the Saints, . 151 

Chap. 9. Evidences of Forgiveness — contimied, 163 

7. God's institution of religious worship, . . 163 

8. His making the New Covenant, . . .174 

9. The oath of God, 180 

Chap. 10. Evidences of Forgiveness — continued, 184 

10. God's name as the God of pardons, . . 184 

11. The essential properties of his nature, . 189 

12. God's sending his Son, . . . .196 

13. His requiring forgiveness in us, . . . 206 



CONTENTS. 7 

Pago 

Chap. 11. Greatness of Forgiveness — Prevailing 

Unbelief 211 

It is great — such as becomes God, . . .211 
He has placed his glory in declaring it, . .217 

Prevailing unbelief of forgiveness, . . . 219 

Chap. 12. Exhortation to the Belief of Forgiveness, 233 

To those who are utter strangers to it, . . 234 

To those convinced of their need of forgiveness, 244 
Earnest expostulation with those who have not 

accepted of God's forgiveness, . . . 245 

Chap. 13. Rules for obtaining Forgiveness, 270 

Rule 1. Let Christ be the Judge of your condition, . 271 

2. Abhorrence for sin consistent with justifica- 

tion and peace, 278 

3. Continuance in waiting on God, . , ; 288 

4. Searching out of sin, 290 

Chap. 14. Rules for obtaining Forgiveness — con- 
tinued, 294 

Rule 5. Distinction between Unbelief and Jealousy, 294 

6. Distinction between faith and spiritual sense, 299 

7. Mix not foundation and building work, . 304 

8. Heartless complaints a poor substitute for 

active duty, ...... 306 

9. Beware of complaining of God in distress, . 312 
10. Improve the least displays of grace, . .316 

Chap. 15. Hinder ances to a sense of Forgiveness — 

Afflictions, 318 

How afflictions lead to distrust of forgiveness, 319 

Directions for those in affliction, . ; . 326 



8 CONTENTS. 

Page 

Chap. 16. Hinderances to a sense of Forgiveness — 

" Am I regenerated ?" 332 

What regeneration is, ..... 332 

Is their real state known to the regenerate them- 
selves, or to others 1 338 

This state may be known so far as duty is in- 
volved, ........ 344 

Four directions for resolving this perplexing 

doubt, 345 

Doubts respecting actual holiness, from defects 

in duty, and from indwelling sin, . . 355 

Chap. 17. Earnest waiting on God, the fruit of For- 
giveness — Nature of this duty, 365 

With composure of spirit, 372 

With diligence, 374 

With confident expectation. .... 376 

Chap. 18. Waiting on God only, 383 

Absence of God from the soul the ground of 

distress, 384 

God's glorious being and attributes, . . . 386 

His sovereignty, wisdom, righteousness, . . 395 

Our infinite distance from him and unworthiness, 405 

His blessed promises, 413 

Chap. 19. Let all trust in the Lord — with him is 

plenteous Redemption, 419 

The Psalmist's exhortation to hope in God, . 422 
Encouragement from the Redemption or For- 
giveness with him, 423 

Assured deliverance, 425 

Closing Observations, 428 



THE 



FORGIVENESS OF SIN, 



ILLUSTRATED IN 



PSALM CXXX. 



Paraphrase of the Psalni, and Plan of the Work, 

1. Old of the depths have I cried unto thee, Lord. 

2. Lord , hear my voice, let thine ears be attentive to the 

voice of my supplications* 

O Lord, through my manifold sins and provocations 
I have brought myself into great distresses. My iniqui- 
ties are always before me, and I am ready to be over- 
whelmed with them, as with a flood of waters ; for they 
have brought me into depths wherein I am ready to be 
swallowed up. But although my distress be great and 
perplexing, I do not, I dare not utterly despond, and 
cast away all hopes of relief; nor do I seek unto any 
other remedy or means of relief, but I apply myself to 
thee, Jehovah, to thee alone. And in this my application 
unto thee, the greatness and urgency of my troubles 
make my soul urgent, earnest and pressing in my sup- 
plications. Whilst I have no rest, I can give ,thee no 
rest : 0, therefore, attend and hearken unto the voice 
of my crying and supplications 1 

3. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities^ Lord, tvho 

shall stand? 

1* 



10 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

It is true, Lord, thou God, great and terrible, that 
if thou shouldest deal with me in this condition — with 
any man living — with the best of thy saints, according 
to the strict and exact tenor of thy law, which first re- 
presents itself to my guilty conscience and troubled 
soul, there would be neither for me nor them the least 
expectation of deliverance 5 all flesh must fail before 
thee, and the spirits which thou hast made, and that to 
eternity; for who could stand before thee when thou 
shouldest so execute thy displeasure \ 

4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be 

feared* 

But, Lord, this is not absolutely and universally 
the state of things between thy Majesty and poor sin- 
ners 1 thou art, in thy nature, infinitely good and gra- 
cious, ready and free, in the purposes of thy will, to 
receive them. And there is such a blessed wav made 
for the exercise of the holy inclinations and purposes 
of thy heart tOAvards them, in the mediation and blood 
of thy dear Son, that they have assured foundations of 
concluding and believing that there is pardon and for- 
giveness with thee in the way of thine appointment. 
This way, therefore, will I, with all that fear thee, per- 
sist in : I will not give over, leave thee, or turn from 
thee, through my fears, discouragements and despond- 
encies ; but will abide constantly in the observance of 
the worship which thou hast prescribed, and render the 
obedience which thou dost require, having great en- 
couragement so to do. 

5. I wait for the Lord; my soul doth wait, and in his 

word do I hope. 

And herein, on account of the forgiveness that is 
with thee, O Lord, do I wait with all patience, quiet- 
ness and perseverance. In this work is my whole soul 



DEPTHS OF SIN. 11 

engaged ; even in an earnest expectation of thy ap- 
proach unto me in a way of grace and mercy. And for 
my encouragement therein hast thou given me a bless- 
ed word of grace, a faithful word of promise, wherein 
my hope is fixed. 

6. My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than they that 

watch for the morning: I say, more than they that 
watch for the morning. 

Yea, in the discharge of this duty my soul is intent 
upon thee, and in its whole frame turned towards thee \ 
and that with such diligence and watchfulness in look- 
ing out after every way and manner of thy appearance, 
of thy manifestation of thyself, and coming unto me, 
that I excel therein those who, with longing desire and 
earnest expectation, wait and watch for the appearance 
of the morning ; and that either that they may rest 
from their night-watches, or have light for the duties of 
thy worship in the temple, in which they most delight. 

7. Let Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is 

mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 

8. JInd he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. 

Herein have I found such rest, peace and satisfaction 
to my own soul, that I cannot but invite and encourage 
others to take the same course with me. Let, then, all 
the Israel of God, all that fear him, learn this of me, 
and from my experience : Be not hasty in your dis- 
tresses ; despond not, despair not, turn not aside to 
other remedies ; but hope in the Lord ; for I can now, 
in an especial manner, give testimony to this, that there 
is mercy with him suited to your relief. Yea, whatever 
your distress be, the redemption that is with him is so 
bounteous, plenteous and unsearchable, that the un- 
doubted issue of your performance of this duty will 



12 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

be, that you shall be delivered from the guilt of all your 
sins, and the perplexities of all your troubles. 

My design in the ensuing treatise is to illustrate the 
teaching of the Holy Ghost in this Psalm, as express- 
ing, in the experience of the Psalmist and the working 
of his faith, the state of a soul in itself greatly perplexed 
— relieved through Divine grace — and acting towards 
God and his saints suitably to the displays of that grace : 
a great design and full of great instruction. To be more 
particular, we have 

The state of the distressed soul. Tr Out of the depths 
have I cried unto thee, Lord." 

His application to God alone for relief. " Lord, hear 
my voice, let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my 
supplications." 

His deprecation of God's justice. "If thou, Lord, 
shouldest mark iniquities, Lord, who shall stand 1" 

The relief found in God's mercy. "But there is for- 
giveness with Thee, that thou mayest be feared." 

The acting of his faith towards God. " I wait for 
the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I trust. 
My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that 
watch for the morning, I say more than they that watch 
for the morning." And 

The acting of his faith towards the saints. " Let 
Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is 
mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he 
shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." 

The Lord, in mercy, so dispose of these meditations, 
that both he that writes and they that read may be 
made partakers of the benefit, relief and consolation in- 
tended for his saints, in this psalm, by the Holy Ghost. 



DEPTHS OF SIN. 13 



CHAPTER I. 



THE SOUL IN THE DEPTHS OF SIN. 

The state of the soul here represented, as the basis 
on which this psalm is built, and which first claims our 
consideration, is described in the expression, out of 

THE DEPTHS. 

Some of the ancients, as Chrysostom, suppose this 
expression to relate to the depths of the heart of the 
Psalmist; but the obvious sense of the place, and the 
constant use of the word in the Hebrew, will not admit 
of this interpretation : it is in the plural number, depths. 
It is commonly used for valleys, or any deep places 
whatever, but especially of waters. Valleys and deep 
places, because of their darkness and solitariness, are 
accounted places of horror, helplessness, and trouble. 
Psalm 23 : 4, " When I walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death ;" that is, in the extremity of danger 
and trouble. 

The moral use of the word, as expressing the state 
and condition of the souls of men, is metaphorical. 
These depths, then, are difficulties, or pressures, attend- 
ed with fear, horror, danger, and trouble. And they are 
of two sorts : 

Providential, in respect to outward distresses, cala- 
mities, and afflictions, " Save me, God, for the waters 
are come in unto my soul." Psalm 69 : 1. In the He- 
brew, " I stick in the mire of the deep, and there is no 
standing; I am come into the depths of waters, and the 
flood overflows me." It is trouble, and the extremity 
of it, that the Psalmist thus expresses. He was brought 
by it into a condition like a man ready to be drowned: 
being cast into the bottom of deep and miry waters, 



14> FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

where he had no firm foundation to stand upon, nor 
ability to come out ; as he further explains himself, 
verse 15. 

There are also internal depths, depths of conscience 
on account of sin. " Thou hast laid me in the lowest 
pit, in darkness, in the deeps." Psalm 88 : 6. What he 
intends by this expression the Psalmist declares in the 
next words, ver. 7, " Thy wrath lieth hard upon me." 
Sense of God's wrath upon his conscience, on account 
of sin, was the deep he was cast into ; so, ver. 15, speak- 
ing of the same matter, he saith, " I suffer thy terrors ;" 
and ver. 16, " Thy fierce wrath goeth over me :" which 
he calls water, waves, and deeps ; according to the me- 
taphor already explained. 

And these are the deeps that are here principally in- 
tended. Augustine says on the place, " He cries out 
under the weight and waves of his sins." This the en- 
suing psalm makes evident. Desiring to be delivered 
from these depths out of which he cried, he deals with 
God wholly about mercy and forgiveness; and it is sin 
alone from which forgiveness is a deliverance. The 
doctrine also that he preaches, upon his delivery, is 
that of mercy, grace, and redemption, as is manifest 
from the close of the psalm ; and what we have deliver- 
ance by, is most upon our hearts when we are delivered. 

It is true, indeed, that these deeps do often concur; 
as David speaks, " Deep calleth unto deep," Psalm 42 : 
7. The deeps of affliction awaken the conscience to a 
deep sense of sin. But sin is the disease, affliction only 
a symptom of it; and in effecting a cure, the disease 
itself is principally to be heeded, the symptom will fol- 
low, or depart of itself. 

This, in general, is the state of the soul, as described 
in thispsalm, and is as the key to the ensuing discourse, 
or the hinge on which it turns. Hence we deduce these 
two propositions : 



DEPTHS OF SIN. 15 

Gracious souls, after much communion with God, 
may be brought into inextricable depths and entangle 
ments on account of sin. 

The inward root of distresses is principally to be at- 
tended to in all pressing trials : our sin, as the cause of 
our afflictions. 

It is a sad truth that we have proposed for considera- 
tion : he that hears it ought to tremble in himself, that 
he may rest in the day of trouble ; it speaks out the 
apostle's advice, " Be not high-minded, but fear ;" Rom. 
11 : 20. And "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take 
heed lest he fall." 1 Cor. 10 : 12. When Peter had learn- 
ed this truth by woful experience, after all his boldness 
and forwardness, he gives this counsel to all sstints, " that 
they would pass the time of their sojourning here in 
fear," 1 Pet. 1 : 17 5 knowing how near, in our great- 
est peace and serenity, evil and danger may lie at the 
door. 

Some few instances of the many that are left on re- 
cord, wherein this truth is exemplified, may be men- 
tioned. " Noah was a just man, perfect in his genera- 
tion, and Noah walked with God." Gen. 6:9. He did 
so a long season, and that in an evil time, amidst all 
sorts of temptations, " when all flesh had corrupted his 
way upon the earth." This gave an eminency to his 
obedience, and doubtless rendered the communion which 
he had with God, in " walking before him," most sweet 
and precious to him. He was a gracious soul, upon 
the undoubted testimony of God himself. But we know 
what befell this holy person. He that shall read 
the story recorded of Noah, (Gen. 9 : 20,) will easily 
grant that he was brought into inextricable distress 
on account of sin. His own drunkenness, ver. 21, with 
the consequences of it, provoked the unnatural con- 
duct of his son, ver. 22$ and this leads him to the de 



16 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

voting of that son and his posterity to destruction, ver. 
24, 25 \ all which, joined with the sense of God's just 
indignation, from whom he had newly received that 
tremendously miraculous deliverance, must overwhelm 
him with sorrow and anxiety of spirit. 

The matter is more clear in David. Under the Old 
Testament, none loved God more than he, and none was 
loved of God more than he. The paths of faith and love 
wherein he walked are, to the most of us, like the way 
of an eagle in the air, too high and hard for us; yet to 
this very day do the cries of this man after God's own 
heart sound in our ears. Sometimes he complains of 
broken bones, sometimes of drowning deeps, sometimes 
of waves and water-spouts, sometimes of wounds and 
diseases, sometimes of wrath and the sorrows of hell — 
every where of his sins, the burden and trouble of them. 
Some of the occasions of his depths, darkness, entan- 
glements and distresses we all know. As no man had 
more grace than he, so none is a greater instance of the 
power of sin, and the effects of its guilt upon the con- 
science. But instances of this kind are obvious, and oc- 
cur to the thoughts of all, so that they need not be re- 
peated. I shall show, then, 

What is intended by the depths into which gracious 
souls, after much communion with God, may fall. 

Whence it comes to pass that they may so fall 3 and 

What sins usually bring them into great spiritual dis- 
tresses, with some aggravations of those sins. 

I. What are some of the depths into which believers 
may fall. 

1. Loss of the sc?ise of the love of God, which the soul 
formerly enjoyed. There is a twofold sense of the love 
of God, of which believers in this world may be made 
partakers. There is the transient acting of the heart by 
the Holy Ghost, with ravishing joys, in apprehension 



DEPTHS OF SIN. 17 

of God's love, and our relation to him in Christ. This, 
or the immediate effect of it, is called M joy unspeak- 
able, and full of glory." 1 Pet. 1 : 8. The Holy Ghost 
shining into the heart, with a clear evidence of the soul's 
interest in all Gospel mercies, causes it to leap for joy, 
to exult and triumph in the Lord ; as being for a season 
carried above all sense and thought of sin, self, temp- 
tation, or trouble. But as God gives the bread of his 
house unto all his children, so these dainties and high 
cordials he reserves only for the seasons and persons, 
wherein, and to whom, he knows them to be needful 
and useful. Believers may be without this sense of love, 
and yet be in no depths. 

Again, there is an abiding sense of God's love upon 
the hearts of those of whom we speak, who have long 
had communion with God, consisting in a prevailing 
Gospel persuasion that they are accepted with God, in 
Christ. "Being justified by faith, we have peace with 
God." Rom. 5:1. This is the root from whence spring 
all that peace and ordinary consolation of which believ- 
ers in this world are made partakers. This is that which 
quickens and enlivens them to duty, Psalm 116 : 12, 13, 
and is the salt that renders their sacrifices and perform- 
ances savory to God and refreshing to themselves. 
This supports them under their trials, gives them peace, 
hope and comfort in life and death. " Though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no 
evil, for thou art with me." Psalm 23 : 4. A sense of 
God's presence in love is sufficient to rebuke all anxiety 
and fears ; and not only so, but to give, in the midst of 
them, solid consolation and joy. So the prophet ex- 
presses it, " Although the fig-tree shall not blossom ? 
neither shall fruit be in the vine, the labor of the olive 
shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock 
shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no 
herd in the stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will 



18 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

joy in the God of my salvation." Habak. 3 : 17, 18. And 
this rs that sense of love which the choicest believers 
may lose on account of sin. This is one step into their 
depths. They do not retain such gospel-apprehension 
of it, as to give them rest, peace, or consolation ; to 
influence their souls with delight in duty, or to support 
in trials. 

2. Perplexed thoughtfulness about their great un~ 
kindness towards God, is another part of the depths of sin- 
entangled souls. So David complains, " I remembered 
God, and was troubled." Psalm 77: 3. How came the 
remembrance of God to be a matter of trouble to him \ 
In other places he professes that it was all his relief and 
support : how comes it to be an occasion of his troubled 
All had not been well between God and him ; and where- 
as formerly, in his remembrance of God, his thoughts 
were chiefly exercised about his love and kindness, 
now they were wholly engrossed with his own sin and 
unkindness: this causes his trouble. Herein lies a share 
of the entanglements occasioned by sin. Saith such a 
soul in itself: " Foolish creature ! hast thou thus requit- 
ed the Lord ! Is this the return that thou hast made to 
him for all his love, his kindness, his consolations and 
mercies % Is this thy love to him] Is this thy kindness 
to thy friend 1 Is this thy boasting of him, that thou 
hadst found so much goodness and excellency in him 
and his love, that though all men should forsake him, 
thou never wouldst do so \ Are all thy promises, all 
thy engagements, which thou madest unto God in times 
of distress, upon prevailing obligations, and mighty im- 
pressions of his good Spirit upon thy soul, now come 
to this, that thou shouldst so foolishly forget, neglect, 
despise, cast him off? Well! now he is gone, he has 
withdrawn from thee, and what wilt thou dol Art thou 
not even ashamed to desire him to return]" Thoughts 
of this nature cut Peter to the heart, upon his fall. The 



DEPTHS OF SIN. 19 

soul finds them cruel as death, and strong as the grave. 
It is bound in their chains, and cannot be comforted. 
Psalm 38 : 3, 4, 5, 6. And herein consists a great part 
of the depths inquired after. For this consideration ex- 
cites and puts an edge upon all grieving, straitening, 
perplexing affections, which are the only means whereby 
the soul of a man may be inwardly troubled, or trouble 
itself: such are sorrow and shame, with that self-dis- 
pleasure and self-revenge wherewith they are attended. 
And as their reason and object in this case transcend 
all other occasions of them, so on no other account do 
they cause such severe and perplexing reflections in the 
soul as on this. 

3. A revived sense of justly-deserved wrath belongs 
also to these depths. This is as the opening of old 
wounds. When men have passed through a sense of 
w 7 rath, and have obtained deliverance and rest through 
the blood of Christ, to come to their old thoughts again, 
to be trading afresh with hell, curse, law, and wrath, is 
a depth indeed! And this often befalls gracious souls on 
account of sin. Psal. 88 : 7. " Thy wrath lieth hard upon 
me," says the Psalmist ; it pressed and crushed him 
sorely. There is a self-judging as to the desert of wrath 
which is consistent with a comforting persuasion of an 
interest in Christ. In that the soul finds sweetness, as 
it lies in a subserviency to the exaltation of grace $ but 
in this case the soul is left under it withqut that relief. 
It plunges itself into the curse of the law and flames of 
hell, without any cheering support from the blood of 
Christ. This is walking in "the valley of the shadow 
of death." The soul converses with death, and what 
seems to lie in a tendency thereunto. The Lord also, to 
increase his perplexities, puts new life and spirit into 
the law i gives it a fresh commission, as it were, to take 
such a one into its custody; and the law will never 5 in 
this world, be wanting to its duty. 



20 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

4. There are also oppressing apprehensions of tempo- 
ral judgments $ for God will judge his people; and 
judgment often begins at the house of God. Though 
God, saith such a one, should not cast me off for ever, 
though he should pardon my iniquities, yet he may so 
take vengeance of my inventions as to make me feed 
on gall and wormwood all my days. "My flesh trem- 
bleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgments. 5 ' 
Psalm 119 : 120. He knows not what the great God may 
bring upon him ; and having a full sense of the guilt of 
sin, which is the ground of this whole condition, every 
judgment of God is full of terror to him. Sometimes 
he thinks God may lay open the vileness of his heart, 
and make him a scandal and a reproach in the world. 
" Oh !" saith he, rr make me not the reproach of the 
foolish." Psalm 39 : 8. Sometimes he trembles, lest God 
should strike him suddenly with some signal judgment, 
and take him out of the world in darkness and sorrow ; 
so saith David, " Take me not away in thy wrath." 
Sometimes he fears lest he should be like Jonah, and 
raise a storm in his family, in the church whereof he is 
a member, or in the whole nation : " let them not be 
ashamed for my sake." These things make his heart 
soft, as Job speaks, and to melt within him. When any 
affliction or public judgment of God is joined to a quick 
living sense of sin in the conscience, it overwhelms the 
soul, whether it be only justly feared, or be actually in- 
flicted, as was the case of Joseph's brethren in Egypt. 
The soul is then rolled from one deep to another. Sense 
of sin casts it on the consideration of its affliction; and 
affliction turns it back on a sense of sin. So deep call- 
cth unto deep, and all God's billows go over the soul; 
and they do each of them make the soul tender, and 
sharpen its sense unto the other. Affliction softens the 
soul, so that the sense of sin cuts the deeper, and 
ikes the larger wounds ; and the sense of sin weakens 



DEPTHS OF SIN. 21 

the soul, and makes affliction the heavier, and so increas- 
es its burden. In this case, that affliction which a man 
in his usual state of spiritual peace could have embraced 
as a sweet pledge of love, is as goads and thorns in his 
side, depriving him of all rest and quietness. God 
makes it as thorns and briers, wherewith he will teach 
stubborn souls their duty, as Gideon did the men of 
Succoth. 

5. There may be added prevailing fears, for a season, 
of being utterly rejected by God, of being found a re- 
probate at the last day. Jonah seems to conclude so, 
chap. 2 : 4. " Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight :" I 
am lost for ever, God will own me no more. And 
Psalm 88 : 4, 5, u I am counted with them that go down 
into the pit : free among the dead, like the slain that lie 
in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more, and 
they are cut off from thy hand." This may reach the 
soul, until the sorrows of hell compass it, and lay hold 
upon it ; until it be deprived of comfort, peace, and 
rest j until it be a terror to itself, and be ready to 
choose strangling rather than life. This may befall a 
gracious soul on account of sin. But yet, because 
this fights directly against the life of faith, God doth 
not, unless in extraordinary cases, suffer any of his to 
lie long in this horrible pit, where there is no water, 
no refreshment. But it often occurs, that even the saints 
themselves are left for a season to a fearful expectation 
of judgment, and fiery indignation, as to the prevailing 
apprehension of their minds. 

6. God secretly sends his arrows into the soul, that 
wound it, adding pain to its disquietness. " Thine ar- 
rows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore." 
Psalm 38 : 2. Ever and anon, in his walking, God shot 
a sharp piercing arrow, fixing it on his soul, that 
wounded and perplexed him, filling him w T ith pain and 
grievous vexation. These arrows are God's rebukes, 



22 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

"When thou with rebukes dost correct man for ini- 
quity." Psalm 39 : 11. God speaks in his word, and by 
his Spirit in the conscience, things sharp and bitter to 
the soul, fastening them so that it cannot shake them 
off These Job so mournfully complains of, chap. 6 : 4. 
The Lord speaks words with such efficacy that they 
pierce the heart quite through; and what the issue then 
is, David declares, u There is no soundness," saith he, 
"in my flesh, because of thine anger; nor is there any 
rest in my bones, because of my sin." Psalm 38 : 8. 
The whole person is brought under the power of them, 
and all health and rest is taken away. And, 

7. Dullness and disability to duty, in doing or suffer 
ing, attend such a condition. "Mine iniquities have 
taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up." 
Psalm 40 : 12. His spiritual strength was worn away by 
sin, so that he was not able to address himself to any 
communion with God. The soul now cannot pray with 
life and power ; cannot hear with joy and profit ; cannot 
do good and communicate with cheerfulness and free- 
dom ; cannot meditate with delight and heavenly-mind- 
edness ; cannot act for God with zeal and liberty; can- 
not think of suffering with boldness and resolution ; but 
is sick, weak, feeble and bowed down. 

Now, I say, a gracious soul, after much communion 
with God, may, on account of sin, by a sense of the 
guilt of it, be brought into a state wherein some or all 
of these, with other like perplexities, may be its por- 
tion. And these make up the depths whereof the Psalm- 
ist here complains. I shall now show, 

II. Whence is it that believers may be brought into 

depths on account of sin. 

The nature of the covenant of GRACE, wherein all 
believers now walk with God, and wherein lies their 
whole provision for obedience, leaves it possible for 



DEPTHS OF SIN. 23 

them to fall into these depths that have been mentioned. 
Under the first covenant there was no mercy or forgive- 
ness provided for any sin. He made man upright, and 
it was necessary that he should be preserved from every 
sin, or that covenant could in no way benefit him. But 
it is not so in the covenant of grace : there is in it par- 
don provided in the blood of Christ. It is not, therefore, 
of indispensable necessity that there should be adminis- 
tered grace in it, effectually preserving from every sin : 
yet it is on all accounts to be preferred before the other; 
for besides the relief by pardon, which the other knew 
nothing of, there is in it also much provision against sin, 
which was not in the other. 

1. There is provision made in it against all and every 
sin that would disannul the covenant, and make a final 
separation between God and a soul that hath been once 
taken into it. This provision is absolute ; God hath 
taken upon himself to make it good, to establish this 
law of the covenant, that it shall not by any sin be dis- 
annulled. " I will," saith God, " make an everlasting 
covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them 
to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts, 
that they shall not depart from me." Jer. 32 : 40. This 
security depends not on any thing in ourselves. All that 
is in us is to be used as a means for the accomplishment 
of this promise , but the event or issue depends abso- 
lutely on the faithfulness of God. And the w T hole cer- 
tainty and stability of the covenant depends on the effi- 
cacy of the grace administered in it to preserve men 
from all such sins as would disannul it. 

2. There is in this covenant of grace provision made 
for constant peace and consolation, notwithstanding the 
guilt of such sins as, through their infirmities and temp- 
tations, believers are daily exposed to. .Though they 
fall into sins every day, yet they do not fall into depths 
every day. In the tenor of this covenant there is a con- 



24 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

sistency between a sense of sin unto humiliation, and 
peace with strong consolation. After the apostle had 
described the whole conflict that believers have with 
sin, and the frequent wounds which they receive there- 
by, which makes them cry out for deliverance, Rom. 
7 : 24, he yet concludes, chap. 8 : 1, that there is no con- 
demnation to them : which is a sufficient and stable 
foundation of peace. So, 1 John, 2:1, " These things 
write I unto you, that ye sin not ; and if any man sin, 
we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the 
righteous. " Our great business and care ought to be, 
that we sin not ; but yet, when we have done our ut- 
most, " if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. " 
What then shall poor, sinful, guilty creatures do ] Why, 
let them go to the Father, by their Advocate, and they 
shall not fail of pardon and peace. And, saith Paul, 
" God is abundantly wiliingj that we might have strong 
consolation, who fly for refuge to lay hold on the hope 
set before us." Heb. 6 : 17, 18. What was his condi- 
tion who fled of old to the city of refuge for safety, 
from whence this expression is taken 1 He was guilty 
of blood, though shed unawares ; and so that he was 
to die for it, if he escaped not to the city of refuge. 
Though we may have the guilt of sins on which the law 
pronounces death, yet flying to Christ for refuge, God 
has provided not only safety, but strong consolation. 
Forgiveness in the blood of Christ not only takes guilt 
from the soul, but trouble also from the conscience ; 
and in this respect the apostle at large sets forth the 
excellency of his sacrifice. Heb. 10. The sacrifices of 
the law, he tells us, could not make perfect the wor- 
shippers ; which he proves, because they did never take 
away, thoroughly and really, conscience of sin, that is, 
depths or distresses of conscience about sin. But now, 
saith he, Jesus Christ, in the covenant of grace, hath 
"for ever perfected them that were sanctified j" provid 



DEPTHS OF SIN. 25 

ing for them such stable peace and consolation, that 
they should not need the renewing of sacrifices every 
day. This is the great mystery of the Gospel, in the 
blood of Christ, that those who sin every day should 
have peace with God all their days, if their sins fall 
within the compass of those infirmities against which 
this consolation is provided. 

3. There is provision made of grace to preserve the 
soul from great and enormous si?is, such as in their own 
nature are apt to wound conscience, and cast the per- 
son into depths in which he shall have neither rest nor 
peace. There is in this covenant, grace for grace, John, 
1 : 16 ] and abundance of grace, administered from the 
fulness of Christ: grace reigneth in it, Rom. 6:6, de- 
stroying and crucifying the body of sin. 

But this provision in the covenant of grace against 
peace-ruining, soul-perplexing sins, is not, as to the ad- 
ministration of it, absolute. There are covenant com- 
mands and exhortations, on the attendance upon which 
the administration of much covenant-grace depends. 
To watch, pray, improve faith, to stand on our guard 
continually, to mortify sin, to fight against temptations 
with steadfastness, diligence, constancy, are every where 
prescribed ; and that in order to the insurance of the 
grace mentioned. So Peter informs us, the divine power 
of God "hath given unto us all things that pertain unto 
life and godliness." 2d Epistle, 1 : 3. We have from it 
an habitual supply and provision for obedience at all 
times : also, saith he, verse 4, " He hath given unto us 
great and precious promises, that by them we might be 
partakers of the divine nature." 

What then, in this blessed estate and condition, is re- 
quired of us, but that we may make a due improvement 
of the provision made for us, and enjoy the comforting 
influence of those promises that he holds out to us ; 
ver. 5, 6, 7. " Giving all diligence, add to your faith, 

Forgiveness. 2 



26 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, 
temperance ; and to temperance, patience ; and to pa- 
tience, godliness ; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness ; 
and to brotherly-kindness, charity :" that is, carefully 
and diligently attend to the exercise of all the gra- 
ces of the Spirit, and to a conversation in all things be- 
coming the Gospel. What then shall be the issue, if 
these things are attended tol ver. 8. " If these things 
be in you, and abound, ye shall be neither barren nor 
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
It is not enough that these things be in you, that you 
have the root of them from the Holy Ghost , but you 
are to take care that they flourish and abound ; with- 
out which, though the root of the matter may be in you, 
and so you be not wholly devoid of spiritual life, yet 
you will be poor, barren, sapless, withering creatures, 
all your days. But now, suppose that these things do 
abound, and we be made fruitful thereby, why then, 
saith he, ver. 10, " If you do these things ye shall 
never fall." What, never fall into sin 1 nay, that is not 
the promise ; and he that says, when he hath done all, 
xx that he hath no sin," he is a liar. Or is it, never fall 
totally from God % no, the preservation of the elect, 
of whom he speaks, from total apostacy, is not suspend- 
ed on such conditions, especially not on any degree 
of them, such as their abounding imports. But it is, 
that they shall not fall into their old sins, from which 
they were purged, ver. 9, such conscience-wasting 
and defiling sins as they lived in, in the time and state 
of their unregeneracy. Thus, though there be in the 
covenant of grace, through Jesus Christ, provision made 
of abundant supplies for the soul's preservation from 
entangling sins; yet their administration hath respect 
unto our diligent attendance on the appointed means 
of receiving them. 

And here lies the latitude of the new covenant ; 



DEPTHS OF SIN* 27 

here lies the exercise of renewed free-will. This is the 
field of free, voluntary obedience, under the adminis- 
tration of gospel grace. There are extremes which, in 
respect to the event, it is not concerned in. To he 
wholly perfect, to be free from every sin, all failings, all 
infirmities, is not provided for, nor promised in this 
covenant. It is a covenant of mercy and pardon, which 
supposes a continuance of sin. To fall utterly and 
finally from God is provided against. Between these two 
extremes of absolute perfection and total apostacy lies 
the large field of believers' obedience and walking with 
God. Many a sweet heavenly passage there is, and 
many a dangerous depth, in this field. Some walk near 
to the one side, some to the other ; yea, the same per- 
son may sometimes press hard after perfection, some- 
times be cast to the very border of destruction. Now, 
between these two lie many a soul-plunging sin, against 
which no absolute provision is made, and into which, 
for want of giving all diligence, believers often fall. 

4. There is not, in the covenant of grace, provision 
made of ordinary and abiding consolation, for any under 
the guilt of sins greatly aggravated, which they fall into 
by neglecting the condition of abounding grace just named. 
Sins there are, which, either because in their own na- 
ture they wound and waste Conscience, or in their ef- 
fects break forth into scandal, causing the name of 
God and the Gospel to be evil spoken of, or in some of 
their circumstances are full of unkindness against God, 
do deprive the soul of its wonted consolation. How, 
by what means, on what account such sins came to 
terrify conscience, to break the bones, to darken the 
soul, and to cast it into inextricable depths, notwithstand- 
ing the relief that is provided of pardon in the blood of 
Christ, I shall nof now declare. That they will do so, 
and that consolation is not of equal extent with safety, 
we know. Hence God assumes it to himself, as an act 



23 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

of mere sovereign grace, to speak peace and refresh- 
ment to the souls of his saints, in their depths of sin-en- 
tanglements. Isa. 57 : IS, 19. And indeed, if the Lord 
had not thus provided that great provocation should 
stand in need of special reliefs, it might justly be feared, 
that the negligence of believers might possibly produce 
much bitter fruit. 

Only this must be observed by the way, that what is 
spoken relates to the sense of sinners in their own souls, 
and not to the nature of the thing itself. There is in 
the Gospel, consolation provided against the greatest as 
well as the least sins. The difference arises from God's 
sovereign communication of it, according to the tenor 
of the covenant's administration, which we have laid 
down. Hence, because under Moses' law there was an 
exception of some sins, for which there was no sacri- 
fice appointed, so that those who were guilty of them 
could no way be justified from them \ that is, carnally, 
as to their interest in the judaical church and polity ; 
Paul tells the Jews, " That through Jesus Christ was 
preached unto them the forgiveness of sins, and that 
by him all that believe are justified from all things, from 
which they could not be justified by the law of Moses." 
Acts, 13 : 38, 39. There is now no exception of any par- 
ticular sins, as to pardon and peace ; but what we have 
spoken relates to the manner wherein God is pleased to 
administer consolation to the souls of sinning believers. 

Having shown that the covenant of grace leaves it 
possible that the souls o{ believers should fall into in- 
extricable depths, I proceed more directly to show 
whence it is Hurt they often do actually i 7. 

1. From indwelling sin, as it remains in the best of 
saints in this life. For, 

Though the strength of every sin be weakened by 
grace, yet the root of no sin is in this life wholly tai 
away, Lust is like the stubborn Canaanites, who, after 



DEPTHS OF SIN". 29 

the general conquest of the land, would dwell in it still. 
Judg. 1 : 27. Indeed, when Israel grew strong, they 
brought them under tribute, but they eou]d not utterly 
expel them. The kingdom and rule belongs to grace; 
and when it grows strong, it brings sin much under , but 
it will not wholly be driven oat. The body of death is 
not to be utterly done away, but in the death of the 
body. In the flesh of the best saints there dwelleth 
" no good thing," Rom. 7 : 18 ; but the contrary is there, 
that is the root of all evil. The flesh lusteth against 
the Spirit, as the Spirit lusteth against the tie sh. GaL 
5: 17. As, then, there is a universality in the actings 
of the Spirit in its opposing all evil, so there is a uni- 
versality in the actings of the flesh for the furtherance 
of it. 

Some lusts or branches of original corruption obtain 
in some persons such advantages, either from nature, 
custom, employment, society, or other circumstances, 
that they become like the Canaanites that had iron 
chariots ; it is a very difficult thing to subdue them. 
Well it is if war be maintained constantly against them, 
for they will almost always be in actual rebellion. 

Indwelling sin, though weakened, retains all its pro- 
perties : the properties of a thing follow its nature. 
Where the nature of any thing is, there are ail its natu- 
ral properties. What are these properties of indwelling- 
sin I should here declare, but that I have handled the 
whole power and efficacy, the nature and properties of 
it, in another treatise. In brief, they are such that it is 
no wonder that some believers are by them cast into 
depths ; but it is indeed wonderful that any escape them. 

2. The power and prevalence of temptation $ which 
because I have also already shown in another discourse, 
I shall not here farther insist upon. 

3. The sovereign pleasure of God in dealing with sin- 
ning saints must also be considered. Divine love and 



30 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

wisdom work not towards all in the same manner. God 
is pleased to continue peace to some, notwithstanding 
great provocations. Love shall humble them, and re- 
bukes of kindness shall recover them from their wander- 
ings. Others he is pleased to bring into the depths we 
have been speaking of. But yet I may say generally, 
signal provocations meet with one of these two events 
from God. 1. Those in whom they are, are left to some 
signal barrenness and fruitlessness in their generation ; 
they wither, grow barren, worldly, and sapless, and are 
much cast out of the hearts of the people of God. Or, 
2. They are exercised in these depths, from whence 
their way of deliverance is laid down in this psalm. 
Thus, I say, God deals with his saints in great variety. 
Some have all their bones broken, when others have 
only the gentle strokes of the rod. We are in the hands 
of mercy, and God may deal with us as seems good un- 
to him ; but great sins ought to be attended with ex- 
pectations of great depths and perplexities. 

III. What sins usually bring believers into great 
spiritual distresses. 

Sins in their own nature wasting conscience, are of 
this sort. Sins that rise in opposition to all of God that 
is in us ; that is, the light of grace and nature also ; 
such are the sins that cast David into depths. Such are 
the sins enumerated, 1 Cor. 6 : 9, 10. " Be not deceived,*' 
said the apostle, " neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor 
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with 
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor 
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of 
God." Certain it is, that believers may fall into some of 
the sins here mentioned. Some have done so, as is left 
on record : the apostle says, not those who have commit- 
ted any of these sins, but such sinners, shall not inherit 
the kingdom of God j that is, who live in these, or any 



DErTIIS OF SIN. 31 

of these sins, or any like them. There is no provision 
of mercy made for such sinners. These are sins, 
which, in their own nature, without the considera- 
tion of aggravating circumstances, plunge a soul into 
depths : these sins cut the locks of men's spiritual 
strength; and it is vain for them to say, We will go, 
and do as at other times. Bones are not broken with- 
out pain, nor great sins brought on the conscience 
without trouble. But I need, not insist on these. Some 
say that they deprive even true believers of all their 
interest in the love of God— but unduly; all grant that 
they bereave them of all comforting' evidence and well- 
grounded assurance of it. So they did David and Peter, 
and herein lies no small part of the depths we are 
searching into. But 

There are sins, which, though they do not rise up 
in the conscience with such a bloody guilt as those 
mentioned, yet, by reason of their aggravations, God 
makes them a root of disquietness and trouble to the 
soul all its days. He says of some sins of ungodly 
men, u As I live, this iniquity shall not be purged from 
you until ye die." If you are come to this height, 
you shall not escape, I will not spare you. And there 
are such provocations in his own people, that he will 
not let them pass before he hath cast them into depths, 
and made them cry out for deliverance. Let us con- 
sider some of them. 

1. Sins under signal enjoyments of love and kindness 
from God are of this sort. When God hath given un- 
to any one expressive manifestations of his love, con- 
vinced him of it, made him say, in the inmost parts of 
his heart, this is undeserved love and kindness; then, 
for him to be negligent in walking with God, is an ag- 
gravation that shall not be forgotten. It is a- remark 
upon the sins of Solomon, that he fell into them after 
God had appeared unto him twice 3 and all sins under, 



32 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

or after especial mercies, will meet, at one time or 
other, with especial rebukes. Nothing more distresses 
the conscience of a sinner than the remembrance, 
in darkness, of abused light — in desertions, of ne- 
glected love. This, God will make him sensible of. 
"Though I have redeemed them," saith God, "yet 
they have spoken lies against me." When God has, in 
his providence, dealt graciously with a person — it may 
be, delivered him from straits and troubles, set him in 
a large place, blessed him in his person, relations, and 
employments, dealt well with his soul, in giving him a 
gracious sense of his love in Christ \ for such a one to 
fall into sin goes to the heart of God, and shall not be 
passed over. Under-valuations of love are great provo- 
cations. " Hath Nabal thus requited my kindness 1" saith 
David, " I cannot bear it." And the clearer our con- 
victions of such sins, the more severe will be our re- 
flections upon ourselves. 

2. Sins under or after great afflictions are also of this 
character. God doth not afflict willingly, or chasten 
us merely for his pleasure ; he does it to make us par- 
takers of his holiness. To take so little notice of his 
hand, as under it, or after it, not to watch against the 
workings and surprisals of sin, has unkindness in it : 
u l smote him," saith God, "and he went on frowardly 
in the ways of his own heart." These provocations of 
his sons and daughters he cannot bear with. Has God 
brought thee into the furnace, so that thou hast melted 
under his hand, and in pity and compassion given thee 
enlargement, if thou hast soon forgotten his dealings 
with thee, is it any wonder if he remind thee by trou- 
bles in thy soul 1 

3. Breaking off from under strong convictions and 
drawings of love, before conversion, is often remember- 
ed upon the conscience afterwards. When the Lord, 
by his Spirit, shall mightily convince the heart of sin, 



DEPTHS OF SIN. 33 

and make to it withal some discoveries of his love und 
the excellencies of Christ, so that it begins to yield and 
be overpowered, being almost persuaded to be a chris- 
tian ; if then, through the strength of lust or unbelief, 
it goes back to the world or self-righteousness, its folly 
lias unkindness with it, which sometimes shall not be 
passed by. God can, and often does put forth the great- 
ness of his power for the recovery of such a soul ; but 
yet he will deal with him about this contempt cf his 
love and the excellency of his Son, which had been 
manifested to him. 

4. Sudden forgetfulness of endearing manifestations 
of special love. This, God cautions his people against, 
as knowing their proneness to it. " God the Lord will 
speak peace to his people and his saints; but let them 
not turn again to folly." Ps. So : 8, Let them take heed 
of their aptness to forget endearing manifestations of 
special love. When God at any time draws nigh to a 
soul by his Spirit, in his word, with gracious words oi 
peace and love, giving a sense of his kindness on the 
heart by the Holy Ghost, so that it is filled with joy 
unspeakable and glorious; for this soul, on a temp- 
tation, a diversion, or by mere carelessness and. ne- 
glect, to suffer this sense of love to be, as it were, ob- 
literated, and so lose that efficacy to obedience with 
which it is accompanied ; this also is full of unkindness. 

5. Great opportunities neglected, and great gifts not 
improved, are often the occasion of plunging the soul 
into great depths. Gifts are given to trade with for God ; 
opportunities are the market-days for that trade. To 
hide the one in a napkin and let the other slip, will 
end in trouble. Disquietments and perplexities of heart 
are worms that will certainly breed in the rust of un- 
exercised gifts. God loseth a revenue of glory and 
honor by such slothful souls; and he will make them 
sensible of it. I know some at this day whom omis- 

J2* 



34 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

sions of opportunities for service are ready to sink in- 
to the grave. 

6. Sins, after especial warning. In all that variety 
of special warnings which God is pleased to use to- 
wards sinning saints, I shall single out one only. When 
a soul is wrestling with some lust or temptation, God, 
by his providence, causeth some special word, in the 
preaching of the Gospel or the administration of some 
ordinance peculiarly suited to the state of the soul, in 
the way of rebuke or persuasion, to come nigh and en- 
ter the inmost heart. The soul cannot but take notice 
that God is nigh to him, that he is dealing with him, 
and calling on him to look to him for assistance. And 
he seldom gives such warnings to his saints, but that ho 
is nigh them in an eminent manner to give them relief 
and help, if, in answer to his call, they apply themselves 
to him ; but if his care and kindness be neglected, his 
reproofs are usually more severe. 

7. Sins that bring scandal seldom suffer the squI to 
escape depths. Even in great sins, God, in chastening, 
takes more notice often of the scandal than the sin ; as 
2 Sam. 12 : 14. Many professors take little notice of 
their worldliness, their pride, their passion, their lavish 
tongues ; but the world do, and the Gospel is disho- 
nored by it ; and no wonder if they find, from the hand 
of the Lord, the bitter fruits. 

Many other aggravations of sins there are, not perhaps 
in their own nature so appalling as some others, but 
which plunge the soul into depths. Those which have 
been named may suffice as illustrations ; which is all we 
have aimed at. 

The consideration of some aggravations of the guilt 
of these sins, which usually bring the soul into the con- 
dition described, shall close these remarks. 

1. The soul is furnished with a principle of grace, 



depths or sin. 35 

which is continually operative, and working for its pre- 
servation from such sins. The new creature is living 
and active, from its own growth, increase, and security, 
according to the tenor of the covenant of grace, " It 
lusteth against the flesh." It is naturally active for its 
own preservation and increase 5 as new-horn children 
have a natural inclination to the food that will keep them 
alive, and cause them to grow. The soul then cannot 
fall into these entangling sins, but it must he with a 
high neglect of that very principle which is bestowed 
upon it for- quite contrary ends and purposes. The la- 
borings, lustings, desires, crying of it, are neglected. 
It is from God, and of God, and is the renovation of his 
image in us ; that which God owneth and careth for ; and 
the wounding of its vitals, the stifling of its operations, 
the neglect of its endeavors for the soul's preservation, 
always attend sins of such magnitude. 

2. As this principle of life and obedience is not able 
of itself to preserve the soul from such sins as will bring 
it into depths ; there is full provision for continual sup- 
plies of it in Jesus Christ. There are treasures of relief 
in Christ, to which the soul may at any time repair, and 
rind succor against the incursions of sin. He says to the 
soul, as David to Abiathar, w r hen he fled from Doeg, 
" Abide with me, fear not : he that seeketh my life, 
seeketh thy life 5 but with me thou shalt be in safety." 
Sin is my enemy no less than thine; it seeks the life 
of thy soul, and it seeks my life ; abide with me, for 
with me thou shalt be in safety. To this the apostle ex- 
horts us, " Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, 
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in 
time of need." Heb. 4 : 16. If ever it be a time of need 
with a soul, it is when under the assaults of provoking 
sins \ at such a time th«re is suitable and seasonable 
help in Christ for succor and relief. The new creature 
tegs, with sighs and groans, that the soul would apply 



36 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

itself unto him. To neglect him, with all his provision 
of grace, whilst he stands calling to us, " Open unto 
me, for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with 
the drops of the night" — cannot but be a high provoca- 
tion. And what think we is the heart of Christ, when he 
sees his children giving way to conscience-wasting sins, 
without that application to him which the life and peace 
of their own souls call upon them for. These are not 
sins of daily infirmity, which cannot be escaped; but 
their guilt is always attended with a neglect, more or 
less, of the relief provided in Christ against them. The 
means of preservation from them is blessed, ready, 
nigh at hand ; the interest of Christ in our preservation, 
great — of our souls, unspeakable ; to neglect and des- 
pise means, Christ, our own soul's peace and life, must 
render guilt very guilty. 



CHAPTER II 



KELIEF IN GOD ALONE 



The remaining words of the first two verses of the 
psalm show the acting of the soul in the depths de- 
scribed, that it may gain relief — fr I have cried unto 
thee, O Lord ; Lord, hear my voice, let thine ears be 
attentive to the voice of my supplications." 

A general application for relief is here made, in which 
is first to be considered, to whom the application is 
made; and that is, Jehovah. I have cried unto thee, 
Jehovah. God gave that name to his people to confirm 
their faith in the stability of his promises. Exod. 3. 
Being to deal with God about the promises of grace, 



RELIEF IN GOD ALONE. 37 

he makes his application to him under this name, I call 
upon thee, Jehovah. 

In the application it may be observed, that he prays 
that God would cause his ears to be attentive, after the 
manner of men, who seriously attend to what is spoken 
to them, when they turn aside from that which they 
regard not. 

Also, the earnestness of the soul in this supplication, 
which is evident, both from the reduplication of his re- 
quest, " Lord, hear my voice, let thine ears be attentive 
to my voice ;" and the emphatical nature of the words 
he uses, " Let thine ears be (in the Hebrew, diligently) 
attentive." The word signifies the most diligent heed- 
fulness and close attention 5 let thine ears be very at- 
tentive, and unto what 1 " to the voice of my supplica- 
tion ;" generally say interpreters, of my deprecations, 
or earnest prayers for the averting of evil or punish- 
ment. But the word is, to be gracious or merciful ; so 
that it signifies properly, supplications for grace. f ■ Be 
attentive, O Lord, to my supplications for grace and 
mercy," which, according to my extreme necessity, I 
now make unto thee. And in these words the Psalmist 
sets forth, in general, the frame and working of a gra- 
cious soul cast into depths and darkness by sin. We 
hence derive these two propositions: 

The only attempt of a sin-entangled soul for relief 
lies in an application to God alone. " To thee, Jehovah, 
have I cried ; Lord, hear." 

Depths of sin-entanglements will excite a gracious 
soul to intense and earnest supplications unto God. 
fr Lord, hear ; Lord, attend." Dying men do not usually 
cry out slothfully for relief. 

I. Trouble, danger, disquietude invariably lead us to 
seek relief. A drowning man needs no exhortation to 
endeavor his own deliverance and safety 5 and spiritual 



38 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

troubles^ in like manner, put men on attempts for relief. 
To seek for no remedy is to be senselessly obdurate, or 
wretchedly desperate, as Cain and Judas. We may sup- 
pose, then, that the principal business of every soul in 
depths, is to endeavor deliverance. They cannot rest 
in that condition wherein they have no rest. In this en- 
deavor, what course a gracious soul takes is laid down 
in the first proposition, negatively and positively. He 
applies not to any thing but God — he applies himself to 
God. An eminent instance of this we have in Hosea, 
14:3. " Asshur," say those poor distressed, returning 
sinners, " shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses, 
neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, 
Ye are our gods ; for in Thee the fatherless findeth mer- 
cy." Their application to God is attended with a renun- 
ciation of every other way of relief. 

Several things there are that sinners are apt to apply 
themselves to for relief in their perplexities, which prove 
as waters that fail. How many things have the Koman- 
ists invented to deceive souls! Saints and angels, the 
blessed virgin, the wood of the cross, confessions, pe- 
nances, masses, pilgrimages, and dirges, purgatories, 
papal pardons, works of compensation, and the like, are 
made entrances for innumerable souls into everlasting 
ruin. Did they know the terror of the Lord, the nature 
of sin, and of the mediation of Christ, they would be 
ashamed and confounded in themselves for these abomi- 
nations; they would not say to these idols, Ye arc our 
gods, come and save us. 

How short do their contrivances come of his, who 
would fain offer rivers of oil, " yea, the fruit of his body 
for the sin of his soul, his first-born for his transgres- 
sion," Micah, 6:7; who yet gains nothing but an aggra- 
vation of his sin and misery thereby : yea, the heathen 
went beyond them in devotion and expense. It is no 
new inquiry, what course sin-perplexed souls should 



RELIEF IN GOD ALONE. 39 

take for relief. From the foundation of the world, the 
minds of far the greatest part of mankind have been 
exercised in it. Among those who were ignorant of 
God, this inquiry brought forth all that diabolical super- 
stition which spread over the face of the world. Gen- 
tilism being destroyed by the power and efficacy of the 
Gospel, the same inquiry working in the minds of dark- 
ened men, in conjunction with other lusts, brought forth 
the papacy. When men had lost a spiritual acquaintance 
with the covenant of grace and mystery of the Gospel, 
the design of eternal love and efficacy of the blood of 
Christ, they betook themselves for relief, under their 
entanglements, to the broken cisterns mentioned. This 
mistake is predominant in all that are under the law; 
that is, to seek for relief in sin-distresses by self-endea- 
vors, self-righteousness ; hence many poor souls in straits 
apply but to themselves. They expect their cure from 
the same hand that wounded them. This was the life 
of Judaism, as the apostle informs us, Rom. 10:3; and 
all men under the law are still animated by the same 
principle : " They return, but not unto the Lord." Find- 
ing themselves in distress for sin, what course do they 
take X They do this : as they have offended so they will 
amend, and expect their peace to spring from thence, as 
if God and they stood on equal terms. In this way some 
spend their days, sinning and amending, amending and 
sinning, without once coming to repentance and peace. 
This the souls of believers watch against. They look on 
themselves as fatherless, " in thee the fatherless findeth 
mercy ;" that is, helpless, without the least ground of 
hope in themselves, or expectation from themselves: 
they know their repentance, their amendment, thei? 
supplications, their humiliations, their fastings, their 
mortifications will not relieve them. Repent they will, 
and amend they will, and pray, and fast, and humble 
their souls, for they know these things to be their duty ; 



'r-0 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

but they know that their goodness extends not to Him 
with whom they have to do, nor is he profited by their 
righteousness. They will be in the performance of all 
duties, but they expect not deliverance by any duty. It 
is God, they say, with whom we have to do ; our busi- 
ness is to hear what he will say unto us. 

There are other ways whereby sinful souls destroy 
themselves by false reliefs. Diversion from their per- 
plexing thoughtfulness pleases them. They will fix on 
something that cannot cure their disease, but may make 
them forget that they are sick ; as Cain, under the ter- 
ror of his guilt, departed from the presence of the Lord 
and sought inward rest in outward labor and employ- 
ment 5 he "went and built a city." Gen. 4 : 17. S 
courses Saul fixed on 5 first music, then a witch. No- 
thing is more common than for men thus to deal with 
their convictions. They see their sickness, feel their 
wound, and go to the Assyrian, Hos. 5 : 13 ; and this 
insensibly leads men into atheism. Frequent resort to 
creature-diversions from convictions of sin. is a great 
means of bringing on final impenitency. Some drunkards 
had, it may be, never been so, had they not been first 
convinced of other sins : they strive to stifle the guilt 
of one sin with another. They fly from themselves, from 
their consciences to their lusts, and seek for relief from 
sin by sinning. This is so far from believers, that they 
will not allow lawful things to be a diversion of tl 
distress ; use lawful things, they mny and will — but not 
to divert their thoughts from their distresses; t! 
they know must be issued between God and them ; wear 
off they will not, but must be taken away. These rocks 
a gracious soul takes care to avoid. He knows it is ( 
alone against whom he hath sinned; and God alone 
who can pardon his sin. M To Thee, O Lord, do I come ; ,J 
thy word concerning me must stand; upon thee will I 
wait j if thou hast no delight in me, I must perish. 



RELIEF IN GOD ALONE, 41 

Other remedies, I know, are vain 5 I intend not to spend 
my strength for that which is not bread. " Unto thee 
do I cry." Here a sin-entangled soul is to fix itself: 
trouble excites it to look for relief 5 many things with- 
out present themselves as a diversion $ many things 
within offer themselves for a remedy. Forget thy sor- 
row, say the former ; ease thyself of it by us, say the 
latter : the soul refuses both, as physicians of no value 5 
and to God alone makes its application. He has wound- 
ed, and he alone can heal. And until any one that is 
sensible of the guilt of sin will come off from all re- 
serves to deal immediately with God, it is in vain for 
him to expect relief. 

II. In this application to God alone the soul is in- 
tense, earnest, and urgent. It is no time now to be sloth- 
ful : the soul's all, its greatest concerns are at stake. 
Dull, cold, formal applications to God will not serve 
the turn : ordinary actings of faith, love and fervency, 
usual seasons, opportunities, duties, answer not this 
condition. To do no more than ordinary now, is to do 
nothing at all. He that puts forth no more strength and 
activity for his deliverance when he is in depths ready 
to perish, than when he is at liberty in plain and smooth 
paths, is scarcely like 'to escape. Some in such condi- 
tions are careless and negligent; they think in ordina- 
ry course to wear off their difficulties ; and that, though 
at present they are sensible of their danger, they shall 
have peace at last ; in which frame there is much con- 
tempt of God. Some despond and languish under their 
distresses. Spiritual sloth influences both these classes. 
But the steadfast soul resolves, by whatsoever means, 
public or private, of communion with others, or solitary 
retiredness, Christ ever was or may be found, or peace 
be obtained, I will seek him, and not give over until ] 
come to an enjoyment of him. And this frame, this re 



42 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

solution a soul in depths must come unto, if ever it ex» 
pect deliverance. For the most part, " men's wounds 
stink, and are corrupt, because of their foolishness." As 
the Psalmist complains, Psalm 38 : 5, they are wounded 
by sin, and through spiritual sloth they neglect their 
cure ; this weakens them, and disquiets them day by 
day ; yet they endure all rather than they will como 
out of their carnal ease to deal effectually with God. 
It was otherwise with David, " Why," saith he, " art 
thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my 
roaring ] O my God, I cry in the day-time, and in the 
night season, and am not silent." Psalm 22 : 1, 2. What 
ails the man! Can he not be quiet, night or day! never 
be silent, never hold his peace 1 And if he be somewhat 
disquieted, can he not contain himself, but he must roar 
and cry out ; yea, must he roar thus u all the day long," 
Psalm 32 : 3, and " groan all the night," as Psalm 6:61 
What is the cause of all this roaring, sighing, and tears 1 
Ah ! let him alone, his soul is bitter in him ; he has fallen 
into depths; the Lord is withdrawn from him; yea, he 
is full of anxiety on account of sin; there is no quiet- 
ness nor soundness in him ; and he must thus earnestly 
and restlessly apply himself for relief. Alas! what stran- 
gers for the most part are men to this state of soul! 
How little of the workings of this spirit is found amongst 
us! And is not the reason of it, that we value the world 
more, and heaven and heavenly things less, than he did 1 
that we think we can live without a sense of the love of 
God in Christ 1 and is it not hence that we see so many 
withering professors without communion with God, who 
will go on ready to perish, rather than, with this holy man, 
thus stir up themselves to meet the Lord. rf My soul," 
saith he, u is full of troubles, and my life draweth nigh 
unto the grave." And how did he act in this heavy, dis- 
consolate condition'? "O Lord God of my salvation, I 
have cried day and night unto thee, 1 t my prayer come 



EELIEF IN GOD ALOISE, 43 

before thee, incline thine ear unto my cry," ver. 1, 2. 
Day and night he cries to the God of his salvation, and 
that with earnestness and importunity. 

The greatest of men's interests may well occasion this 
earnestness. Suppose a man of the world should have his 
house, wherein all his stock and riches are laid up, set 
on fire, would he be calm and quiet in the considera- 
tion of itl Would he not bestir himself with all his 
might, and call in all the help he could obtain ; and that 
because his portion, his all, his great interest is at stake 1 
And shall the soul be slothful, careless and secure, when 
the light of God's countenance, which is more to him 
than the greatest increase of corn and wine can be to 
the men of the world, is removed from him % What a 
fatal sense of security did it argue in Jonah, that he was 
fast asleep when the ship was ready to be cast away for 
his sake. And will it be thought less in any soul, w T ho 
being in a storm of wrath and displeasure from God 
sent out into the deep after him, shall neglect it, and 
sleep, as Solomon says, on the top of a mast in the midst 
of the seal How did that poor creature, whose heart 
was mad on his idols, (Judges, 18 : 24,) cry out, w 7 hen 
he was deprived of them ! tr You have taken away my 
gods, and what have I more'!'' And shall a gracious 
soul, through his own folly, lose his God, the sense of 
his love, the consolation of his presence, and not with 
all his might follow hard after him \ Can they forbear 
crying out with Job, " O that it were with us as in 
former days, when the candle of the Lord was up- 
on our tabernacle V chap. 29 : 2-4 ; and with David, 
" O Lord, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation V y 
Psalm 51 : 12. But suppose they might pass on in 
their pilgrimage whilst all is prosperous about them ; 
what will they do in the time of outward trials and 
distresses, when deep calleth unto deep, and one trou- 
ble excites and sharpens another] Nothing then will 



44* FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

support them, they know, but that which is now wanti 

Again, they have a deep sense of these their great 
concerns. All men equally need the love of God and 
pardon of sin. Every one has a soul of immortal con- 
stitution, capable of bliss and wo : yet most men are so 
stupidly sottish that they take little notice of these 
things. Neither the guilt of sin, nor the wrath of God, 
nor death, nor hell, can arouse them. But gracious souls 
have a quick, living sense of spiritual things. 

They have a spiritual light ', whereby they discern 
the true nature of sin and the terror of the Lord. For 
though they may now have lost the comforting, they 
lose not the sanctifying light of the Spirit, the ]\ r 
whereby they are enabled to discern spiritual things 
in a spiritual manner 5 this never utterly departs from 
them. By this they see sin to be "exceeding sinful,'* 
by this they "know the terror of the Lord," and that it 
is "a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living 
God." By this they discover the excellency of the love 
of God in Christ, which passeth knowledge, the present 
sense whereof they have lost. By this they are enabled 
to look within the veil, and to take a view of the blessed 
consolations which the saints enjoy, whose communion 
with God is never interrupted : this represents to them 
all the joy and peace which in former days they had 
whilst God was present with them in love; and thcy 
are taught to value all the fruits of the blood of Je 
Christ. 

They remember what it cost them formerly to 
with God about sin ; and hence they know it is nc 
dinary matter they have in hand. A recovery from 
depths is as a new conversion. Oft-times in it the 
whole work, as to the soul's apprel n, is gone over 

afresh. This the soul knows to have been a work cf 
dread, terror, and trouble, and tr [f at its 

v trials. 



RELIEF IN GOD ALONE. 43 

The Holy Ghost gives them a fresh sense of their 
deep concerns, on purpose to stir them up to these ear- 
nest applications to God. The whole work is his, and 
he carries it on by means suited to the end ; and by 
these means is a gracious soul brought into the state 
mentioned. In this work several things concur. 

1. A continual ihoughifulness about the sad condi- 
tion of the soul in its depths. " Thine arrows stick fast 
in me, and thy hand presseth me sore ; there is no 
soundness in my flesh, because of thine anger; neither 
is there any rest in my bones, because of my sin : for 
mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as a heavy 
burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink, 
and are corrupt, because of my foolishness. I am trou- 
bled, I am bowed down, I go mourning all the day long, 
I am feeble and sore broken, I have roared for the dis- 
quietness of my heart." Psalm 38 : 2-8. Restlessness, 
disquietness of heart, continual heaviness of soul, sor- 
row and anxiety, lie at the bottom of the applications 
we are speaking of. From these principles their prayers 
flow out, as David adds, verse 9, " Lord, all my desire 
is. before thee, and my groaning is not hid from thee." 
He prayed out of the abundance of his meditation and 
grief. Thoughts of their condition lie down with such 
persons, and rise with them, and accompany them all 
the day long. As Reuben cried, " The child is not ; 
and I, whither shall I go 1" so doth such a soul: The 
love of God is not, Christ is not ; and I, whither shall 
I cause my sorrow to go % God is provoked, death is 
nigh at hand, relief is far away, darkness is about 
me; I have lost my peace, my joy, my song in the 
night : what do I think of duties 1 Can two walk to- 
gether unless they be agreed 1 Can I walk with God in 
them while I have thus made him mine enemy 1 What 
do I think of ordinances 1 Will it do me any good to 
be at Jerusalem, and not see the face of the king ; to 



45 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

live under ordinances, and not to meet in them with the 
King of saints 1 May I not justly fear that the Lord will 
take his Holy Spirit from me, until I be left without re- 
medy 1 With such thoughts as these are sin-entangled 
souls exercised in all their applications to God. 

2. We see the application itself consists in crying 
unto God. Now this is done with intenseness of mind. 
It is said of our blessed Savior, that when he was in 
depths for our sins, he offered up " prayers and suppli- 
cation, with strong cries and tears." Heb. 5 : 7. Strong 
cries and tears express the utmost intensity of spirit. 
David expresses it by roaring, as we have seen; as also 
by sighing, groaning and panting. A soul in such a con- 
dition lies down before the Lord, with sighs, groans, 
mourning, cries, tears, and roaring, according to the 
various workings of his heart; and this produces. 

Importunity. The power of the importunity of our 
faith, our Savior hath marvellously set forth, Luke, 
11 : 8-10, as also chapter 18 : 1. Importunate prayer 
is prevailing ; and importunity is, as it were, made up 
of these two things ; frequency of interposition and 
variety of arguings. A man that is importunate will 
come to you seven times a day about the same busi- 
ness ; and after all, if any new thought come into his 
mind, though he had resolved to the contrary, he will 
come again ; and nothing can be imagined to relate to 
the business he has in hand, but he will turn it to the 
furtherance of his plea. So is it in this case. Men will 
use both frequency of interposition and variety of argu- 
ings. "I cry unto thee daily," or rather all the day. 
Psalm 88 : 1. By this means we "give God no rest," 
which is the very character of importunity. Such souls 
go to God; and they are not satisfied with what they 
have done ; but they go again and again. What variety 
of arguments are pleaded with God I could show in the 
history of David. But it is known to all ; there is hardly 



RELIEF IN GOD ALOx^E, 47 

any thing that he does not make a plea of; the faith- 
fulness, righteousness, name, mercy, goodness, and 
kindness of God in Jesus Christ ; the concern of others 
in him, both the friends and foes of God ; his own 
weakness and helplessness, yea, the greatness of sin 
itself: "Be merciful to my sin," saith he, "for it is 
great." Sometimes he begins with some arguments of 
this kind ; and then, being a little diverted by other 
considerations, some new plea is suggested to him by 
the Spirit, and he returns immediately to his first em- 
ployment and design — all arguing great intensity of 
mind and spirit. 

Constancy also fiows from intenseness. Such a soul 
will not give over until it obtains what it looks for, as 
we shall see in further considering this psalm. This is, 
in general, the deportment of a gracious soul in the 
condition here represented. As poor creatures love 
their peace, as they love their souls, as they value the 
glory of God, they must not be wanting in this duty. 
What is the reason that controversies hang so long be- 
tween God and your souls that, it may be, you scarce 
see a good day all your lives'? Is it not, for the most 
part, from your sloth and despondency of spirit % you 
will not gird up the loins of your mind in dealing with 
God, to put them to a speedy issue in the blood of Christ, 
You go on and off, begin and cease, try and give over ; 
and for the most part, though your case be extraordi- 
nary, content yourselves with ordinary and customary 
applications to God. This makes you wither, become 
useless, and pine away under your perplexities. David 
did not so ; but after many and many a breach made by 
sin, through quick, vigorous, restless actings of faith, 
all was repaired, so that he lived peaceably and died 
triumphantly. Up, then, and be doing; make thorough 
work of that which lies before you ; be it long or diffi- 
cult, it must be done, and is attended with safety. 



43 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 



CHAPTER III. 



god's marking iniquity 



The general frame of a gracious soul, in its perplexi- 
ties about sin, has been declared. Its particular actings 
are next represented unto us in verse 3 : " If thou, Lord, 
shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall standi" 

tc If thou, Lord." He here fixes on another name of 
God, which is Jah : a name from the same root with the 
former, but used to intimate and express the terrible 
majesty of God: " He rideth on the heavens, and is ex- 
toiled by his name Jah." Psalm 68 : 4. He is to deal 
now with God about the guilt of sin ; and God is repre- 
sented to the soul as great and terrible, that he may 
know what to expect if the matter must be tried accord- 
ing to the demerit of sin. 

"If thou shouldst mark iniquities:" that is, so con- 
sider and observe them, as to reserve them for punish- 
ment and vengeance. In opposition to this marking, 
God is said not to see sin, to overlook it, to cover it, to 
remember it no more \ that is, to forgive it, as the next 
verse declares. 

I need not show that God so far marks all sins in all 
persons, as to see them, know them, disallow them, and 
to be displeased with them. This cannot, be denied, 
without taking away all the grounds of fear and wor- 
ship. To deny it is equivalent to denying the very being 
of God j deny his holiness and righteousness, and you 
deny his existence. But there is a day appointed where- 
in all men shall know that God knew, and took notice 
of, all and every one of their most secret sins. There 
is then a double marking of sin in God, neither of which 
can be denied in reference unto any sins, in any persons. 



GOD'S MARKING INIQUITY". 49 

The first is natural, consisting in his omniscience, where 
unto all things are open and naked. Thus no sin is hid 
from him ) the most secret is before the light of his 
countenance : all are marked by him. The other, mora], 
in. a displeasure against every sin, which is inseparable 
from the nature of God on account of his holiness. And 
this" is declared in the sentence of the law, and that 
equally to all men. But the marking here intended im- 
plies animadversion, and punishment according to the 
tenor of the law. Not only the sentence of the law, but 
a w T ill of punishing according to it, is included in it. 
"If," saith the Psalmist, "thou, the great and dreadful 
God, who art extolled by thy glorious name Jah, shouldst 
take notice of iniquities, so as to recompense sinners 
that come unto thee according to the severity of thy 
holy law :" what then 1 It is answ r ered by the proposal, 
" Who can stand 1" that is, none can so do. No man, 
not one in the world can stand or abide the trial. Every 
one, on this supposition, must perish, and that eternally. 
This, the desert of sin and the curse of the law, which 
is the rule of thus marking their iniquity, require. There 
is great emphasis in the form of this interrogation. 
When the Holy Ghost would show 7 the certainty and 
dreadfulness of the perdition of ungodly men, he does 
it by such a kind of expression, wherein there is a deeper 
sense intimated than any words can w r ell clothe or de- 
clare : "What then shall be the end of them that obey 
not the Gospel V 1 Peter, 4:17; and verse 18, " Where 
shall the ungodly and the sinner appear 1" So here, 
* Who can stand !" There is a deep insinuation of a 
dreadful ruin, as to all with whom God shall so deal as 
to mark their iniquities. See Psalm 1 : 5. 

The Psalmist then, addressing himself to deal with 
God about sin, lays down, in the first place, in general, 
what the result must be, not to himself onty, but to all 
the world, should God mark iniquity. This is not my 

Forgiveness. & 



50 FORGIVENESS OF SIN, 

case only, but it is so with all mankind — every one who 
is partaker of flesh and blood, whether their guilt an- 
swer that which I am oppressed with or not ) guilty are 
they all, and all must perish. How much more must 
that be my condition, who have contracted such guilt 
as I have done. Here, then, he brings a great argument 
against himself. If none, not the holiest, the humblest, 
the most believing soul, can abide the trial, how much 
less can I, who am the chief of sinners, the least of 
saints, who come unspeakably behind them in holiness, 
and have equally gone beyond them in sin % 

This is the sense and import of the words. Let us now 
consider how they are expressive of the actings of the 
soul whose state is here represented, and what direc- 
tions they afford for them who are fallen into this state. 

We may here observe that, in God's marking sin ac- 
cording to the tenor of the law, the case is the same 
with all classes of sinners, whether before conversion, or 
in relapses and entanglements after conversion. There 
is a likeness between conversion and recoveries. They 
are both wrought by the same means, and have the same 
effects upon the souls of sinners, although in sundry 
things they differ. The considerations we now present 
may be applied both to those who are yet unconverted, 
and to those who are really delivered from their natural 
state i but especially to those who know not which state 
they are in, that is, to all guilty souls. The. law will 
put in its claim upon all. It will condemn the sin, and 
try what it can do against the sinner. There is no shak- 
ing it off; it must be fairly answered, or it will prevail. 
The law issues an arrest for the debt ; and it is to no 
purpose to bid the officer begone, or to entreat him to 
spare. If payment be not made, and an acquittance pro- 
duced, the soul must be sent to prison. I am going to 
God, saith the soul; he is great and terrible, a marker 
of sin, and what shall I say unto him ] This makes him 



god's marking iniquity. 51 

tremble, and cry out, " Lord, who shall stand V 
Hence we lay down this proposition : 

In a sin-perplexed soul's addresses to God, the first 
thing that presents itself is God's marking sin according 
to the tenor of the law , which is likely to fill the soul with 

DREAD AND TERROR. 

The Lord speaks of some, who, when they hear the 
words of the curse, yet bless themselves, and say they 
shall have peace. Deut. 29 : 19. Let men preach and 
say what they will of the terror of the Lord, they will 
despise it. This conduct God threatens with utter ex- 
termination. Generally it is with sinners as it was with 
Gaal the son of Ebed, when he was fortifying Sichem 
against Abimelech ; Zebul tells him that Abimelech will 
come and destroy him. Let him come, saith Gaal, I shall 
deal well enough with him ; let him bring forth his army, 
I fear him not : but upon the very first appearance of 
Abimelech's army he trembled for fear. Tell obdurate 
sinners of the wrath of God, and that he will come to 
plead his cause against them ; for the most part they 
take no notice of what you say, but go on as if they 
were resolved they should deal well enough with him. 
Notwithstanding all their stoutness, a day is coming 
wherein fearfulness shall surprise them, and make them 
cry out, u Who among us shall dwell with devouring 
fire, who among us shall inhabit everlasting burnings V 
Yea, if the Lord be pleased in this life, in an especial 
manner, to draw nigh to any of them, they quickly see 
that their " hearts cannot endure, nor can their hands 
be strong." Ezek. 22 : 14. Their hands hang down, and 
their stout hearts tremble like an aspen-leaf. 

He who first sinned was a striking instance of what 
we have affirmed. " He heard the voice of God." Gen. 
3:8. So he had done before, without the least trouble 
or consternation : he was made for communion with 



52 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

God; and that he might hear his voice was part of his 
blessedness. But now, saith he, "I heard thy voice, and 
was afraid, and hid myself." He knew that God was 
coming on the inquest of sin, and he w r as not able to 
bear the thoughts of meeting him } could he have gone 
into the bowels of the earth, from whence he was taken, 
and have been there hid from God, he would have done 
it. Things are now altered with him : in that God whom 
he loved before, as a good, holy, powerful, righteous 
Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Rewarder, he now 
sees only wrath, indignation, vengeance, and terror. 
This draws from him those dreadful words, rt I heard 
thy voice, and was afraid, and hid myself." 

The giving of the law evinces ivhat effects the con- 
sideration of God's proceeding'with sinners according 
to the tenor of it must produce. "All the people saw 
the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of 
the trumpet, and the mountain smoking." Exodus, 20 : 
18, 19 5 Heb. 12 : 18. In this manner came forth from 
the Lord that fiery law. Deut. 33 : 2. So that all who 
were concerned in it did exceedingly quake and trem- 
ble. And yet all this respects but the severity of the 
law in general, without the application of it to any soul 
in particular. There is a solemnity that carries an awe 
with it, in the preparation of an assize to be kept and 
held by poor worms like ourselves ; but the dread of it 
is peculiar to the malefactors for whose trial and exe- 
cution the preparation is made. When a soul comes to 
think that all this dreadful preparation, this appearance 
of terrible majesty, these streams of the fiery law, are 
pointed towards him, it will make him cry out, tf Lord, 
Avho can standi" And this law is still in force towards 
sinners, even as it was on the day wherein it was given on 
Mount Sinai. Though Moses grew old, yet his strength 
never failed ; nor has the law given by him lost any 
thing of strength, power, or authority towards sinners. 



god's masking iniquity. 53 

It is still accompanied with thunderings and lightnings 
as of old ; and it will not fail to represent the terror of 
the Lord to a guilty soul. 

Among the saints themselves I could produce in- 
stances to show that they have found it to be thus. The 
cases of Job and David are known ; I shall only consider 
it in Christ himself. From himself, he had no occasion 
of any discouraging thought ; being holy, harmless, un- 
defiled. He fulfilled all righteousness, did his Father's 
will in all things, and abode in his love. This must be 
attended with the highest peace and most blessed joy. 
In the very entrance of his trials he had a full persua- 
sion of a comfortable issue and success ) as we may see, 
Isaiah, 50 : 7, 8. But yet, when his soul was exercised 
with thoughts of God's marking our iniquities upon him, 
it was sorrowful unto death. He was " amazed, and 
very heavy." His agony, his bloody sweat, his strong 
cries and supplications, his reiterated prayers, " If it be 
possible^ let this cup pass from me," his last and dread- 
ful cry, " My God, my God, why hast thGu forsaken 
me 1" all manifest what apprehensions he had of what 
it was for God to mark iniquities. Well may poor sin- 
ners cry out, rf Lord, who shall standi" when the Son 
of God himself so trembled under the weight of it. 

In serious thoughts' of God marking sin, he is repre- 
sented to the soul under ail those glorious terrible attri- 
butes and excellences which beget dread and terror in 
the hearts of sinners when they have no relief from any 
covenant-engagements in Christ. The soul looks upon 
him as the great Lawgiver, (James, 4 : 12,) able to re- 
venge the breach of it, by destroying body and soul in 
hell j as one terrible in holiness, of purer eyes than to 
behold iniquity ; the living God, into whose hands it is a 
fearful thing to fall; as attended with vindictive justice, 
saying, " Vengeance is mine, I will recompense." Heb. 
10 : 30. Now, for a soul to consider God clothed with 



54 forgiveness of sin. 

all those dreadful and terrible excellences, coming to deal 
with sinners according to the tenor of his fiery law, can- 
not but make him cry out with Moses, " I exceedingly 
quake and tremble." These things work in their minds 
the conclusion that God's marking sin according to the 
tenor of the law, and man's salvation, are utterly incon- 
sistent; a conclusion that must shake a soul when press- 
ed under a sense of its own guilt. 

When a person who is really guilty, and knows him- 
self to be guilty, is brought to his trial, he has but these 
four grounds of hope that his safety and his trial may 
be consistent. He may think that either, 1. The Judge 
will not be able to discover his crimes ; or, 2. That 
some one will powerfully intercede for him with the 
Judge ; or, 3. That the rule of the law is not so strict as 
to notice his errors ; or, 4. That the penalty is not so 
severe but there may be a way of escape. Cut him 
short of his expectations from some one or all of these, 
and all his hopes must of necessity perish. 

1. Of the Judge we have spoken somewhat already. 
The present inquiry is, Whether any thing may be hid 
from him, and so a door of escape be opened to a sin- 
ner 1 The apostle tells us, " That all things are naked 
and open unto Him," Heb. 4:13; and the Psalmist, that 
there " is not a thought in our hearts nor a word in our 
tongue but he understandeth it afar off, and knoweth it 
altogether." Psalm 139 : 2, 4. What the sinner knows of 
himself which may cause him to fear, that God knows; 
and what he knows not of himself that deserves his fear, 
that God knows also : " He is greater than our hearts, 
and knoweth all things." 1 John, 3 : 20. When God 
shall not only set in order before the sinner the secret 
sins which he retains some remembrance of, but also 
brino" to mind that world of abominations of which 
either he never took any notice or hath utterly forgot- 
ten, it will trouble, yea, confound him. 



god's marking iniquity. 55 

2. But may not this Judge be entreated to pass by 
what he knows, and deal favorably with the sinner 1 May 
not an intercessor be obtained, to plead in behalf of 
the guilty soul 1 Eli determines this matter, 1 Samuel, 
2 : 25, fl If any one man sin against another, the judge 
shall judge him $ but if a man sin against the Lord, who 
shall entreat for him V There is not, saith Job, between 
us one that might argue the case in pleading for me, 
and so make up the matter, " laying his hand upon us 
both." Job, 9 : 33. We now consider a sinner purely un- 
der the administration of the law, which knows nothing 
of a Mediator. In that case, who shall take upon him 
to intercede for the sinner 1 Besides that all creatures 
in heaven and earth are engaged in the contest of God 
against sinners ; and besides the greatness and terror 
of his Majesty, that will certainly deter all, or any of 
them, from undertaking any such work ; what is the re- 
quest that, in this case, must be put up to God 1 Is it 
not that he would cease to be holy, cease to be righ- 
teous, relinquish his throne, deny himself and his so- 
vereignty, that a rebel, a traitor, his cursed enemy may 
live and escape his justice 1 Is this request reasonable I 
Is he fit to intercede for sinners that would make it 1 
Would he not, by so doing, prove himself to be the 
greatest of them ^ The sinner cannot then expect any 
door of escape to be opened to him. All the world is 
against him ; and the case must be tried out nakedly, 
between God and him. But, 

3. It may be, the rule of the law whereby the sinner 
is to be tried is not so strict, but that in the case of 
such sins as he is guilty of, it may admit of a favorable 
interpretation : or that the good he has done may be 
laid in the balance against his evil, and so some relief 
be obtained. But the matter is quite otherwise ; there 
is no good action of a sinner, though it were perfectly 
good, that can lie in the balance with, or compensate 



56 FORGIVENESS OF £IN. 

the evil of the least sin committed : for all good is due 
on another account, though no guilt were incurred. 
As the payment of money that a man has borrowed 
makes no satisfaction for what he has stolen ; no more 
will our duties compensate for our sins. Nor is there 
any good action of a sinner but it has evil and guilt 
enough attending it to render itself unacceptable ; so 
that men may well cease from thoughts of supereroga- 
tion, or doing more than duty requires. Besides, where 
there is any one sin, if all the good in the world might 
be supposed to be in the same person, yet, in the indis- 
pensable order of our dependance on God, nothing of 
that good could come into consideration till the guilt 
of that sin were answered for to the utmost. The pen- 
alty of every sin being the eternal ruin of the sinner, 
all his supposed good can avail him nothing. And for 
the law itself, it is an issue of the holiness, and righ- 
teousness, and wisdom of God ; so that there is not any 
evil, great or small, but is forbidden and condemned by 
it. " Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in 
thy sight shall no man living be justified." Psalm 143 : 
2. That is, if things are to be tried and determined by 
the law, no sinner can be acquitted. Rom. 3 : 20. Gal. 
2 : 16. But yet, 

4. It may be, the sentence of the law is not so fierce and 
dreadful, but that, though guilt be found, there majr be 
yet a way of escape. But the law speaks not one word 
on this side death to an offender. There is a greatness 
and an eternity of wrath in the sentence of it ; and it 
is God himself who hath undertaken to see the ven- 
geance of it executed. So that, on all these accounts, 
the conclusion mentioned must be fixed in the soul of a 
sinner that entertains thoughts of drawing nigh to God. 

Though what has been spoken may be of general use 
to sinners of all classes, whether called home to God, 



SINCERE SENSE OF SIN. 57 

or yet strangers to him ; yet I shall not insist upon any 
general improvement of it, because it is intended only 
for one special end or purpose. What is aimed at is, to 
show that in the first thoughts that arise in the heart of 
a poor entangled soul when he begins to endeavor a re- 
turn to God, the law immediately puts in its claim against 
him. God is represented to him as angry, and his terror 
besets him round about. This fills him with fear and 
confusion, so that he knows not what to do. These trou- 
bles are greater or less, according as God sees it best 
for the poor creature's present humiliation and future 
safety. What then does the sinner 1 What are his 
thoughts on this subject 1 Does he think to fly from 
God, and to give over all endeavors of recovery 1 Does 
he say, This God is a holy and terrible God, I cannot 
serve him ; it is to no purpose for me to look for any 
thing but fury and destruction from him, and therefore 
I may as well give over as persist in my design of draw- 
ing nigh to him. It cannot be denied that thoughts of 
this nature will be suggested by unbelief, and sometimes 
great perplexities arise to the soul. But this is not the 
issue and final product of this exercise of the soul : it 
produces another effect ; it calls for that which is the 
first particular working of. a gracious soul, arising out 
of its sin-entanglements: viz. 1, a sincere sense of sin ; 
rind, 2, the acknowledgment of it ; with, 3, self-con- 
demnation in the justification of God. 

I. A sincere sense of sin. There is a twofold sense 
of sin: the one general and intellectual, whereby a man 
knows what sin is, that he is a sinner, that he is guilty 
of this or that, these or those sins ; but his heart is not 
affected proportionally to his knowledge. The other is 
active and efficacious, in which the soul being acquaint- 
ed with the nature of sin and its own guilt, is influenced 
by that apprehension to suitable affections and acts. 

3* 



58 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

Of both these we have an instance in the same person. 
David, before Nathan's coming to him, had the former ; 
afterwards he had the latter also. It cannot be imagined 
but that, before the coming of the prophet, he had a ge- 
neral knowledge of the nature of sin, and that he was 
a sinner, and guilty of those very sins for which after- 
wards he was reproved. But yet this wrought not in 
him any one affection suitable to his condition ; and the 
same may be said of most sinners in the world. But now, 
when Nathan comes to him and gives him the latter effi- 
cacious sense of which we speak, we know what effects 
it produced. It is the latter only that is under consid- 
eration ; a deep and practical apprehension, wrought in 
the mind and heart by the Holy Ghost, of sin and its 
evils, in reference to the law and love of God, the cross 
and blood of Christ, the communion and consolation of 
the Spirit, and all the fruits of love, mercy or grace that 
it has been made partaker of, or on gospel-grounds has 
hoped for. 

1. The principal efficient cause of it is the Holy Ghost: 
he it is who " convinceth of sin." John, 16:8. He 
works indeed by means. He wrought it in David by the 
ministry of Nathan, and he wrought it in Peter by the 
look of Christ. But his work it is. No man can work 
it upon his own soul. It will not spring out of men's 
rational considerations. Though men may exercise their 
thoughts about such things as one would think were 
enough to break the hearts of stones; yet if the Holy 
Ghost put not forth a peculiar efficacy of his own, this 
sense of sin will not be produced. As the waters at the 
pool of Bethesda were not troubled but when an angel 
descended and moved them, no more will the heart be 
for sin without a saving entrance of the Holy Ghost. 

2. It is a deep apprehension of sin, and the evils of it. 
Slight transient thoughts amount not to the sense of 
which we speak. "My sorrow," saith David, "is con- 



SINCERE SENSE OF SIN. (39 

tmually before me." Psalm 38: 17. It pressed him al- 
ways, arid greatly. Hence he compares this sense of 
sin, wrought by the Holy Ghost, to " arrows that stick 
in the flesh." verse 2. They pain sorely, and are al- 
ways perplexing. Sin, in this sense of it, lays hold on 
the soul so that the sinner cannot " look up ;" and it 
abides with him, making "his sore run in the night with- 
out ceasing," and deprives the soul of rest: "My sou]," 
saith he, " refused to be comforted." This apprehension 
of sin lies down and rises with him. 

3. It is practical. It is not seated merely in the spe- 
culative part of the mind, hovering in general notions; 
but it dwells in the practical understanding, which ef- 
fectually influences the will and affections ; such an ap- 
prehension, that sorrow and humiliation are inseparable 
from it. 

4. It has respect to the law of God. There can be no 
due consideration of sin in which the law has not its 
place. The more a man sees of the excellency of the 
law, the more he sees of the vileness of sin. This is 
true of a soul in its first endeavor for a recovery from 
the entanglements of sin. He labors thoroughly to know 
his disease, that he may be cured. It will do him no 
good, he knows, to be ignorant of his disease or his 
danger. He knows that if his wounds be not searched 
to the bottom they will fester and destroy him. To the 
law, then, he brings himself and his sin ; and by it learns 
his vileness and danger. Most men lie in their depths 
because they wish to avoid the first step of their rising: 
from the bottom of their misery they would fain at once 
be at the top of their felicity. The soul, led in this work 
by the Holy Ghost, does not so. He converses with the 
law, brings his sins to it, and fully hears its sentence. 
As ever you desire to come to rest, avoid not this en- 
trance of your passage unto it. Weigh well what the 
law speaks of your sin and its desert, or you will never 



60 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

make a due application to God for forgiveness. As ever 
you would have your souls justified by grace, take care 
to have your sins judged by the law. 

5. There is in this sense of sin a respect to the love of 
God, And this breaks the heart of the poor returning 
sinner. Sorrow from the law shuts itself up in the soul 
and strangles it. Sorrow from thoughts of the love of 
God opens it and causes it to flow forth. Thoughts of 
sinning against the love of God, managed by the Holy 
Ghost — what shall I say % their effects in the heart are 
not to be expressed. This made Ezra cry out, " my 
God, I blush and am ashamed to lift up my face to thee — 
What shall we say after this!" After what % why, % all 
the fruits of love and kindness they had been made par- 
takers of. Thoughts of love and sin laid together, make 
the soul blush, mourn, and be ashamed and confounded 
in itself. So Ezekiel, 36 : 31 ; " Then shall you remem- 
ber your own evil ways, and your doings that were not 
good." When shall they do so 1 when thoughts and ap- 
prehensions of love shall be brought home to them ; 
then " shall you loathe yourselves in your own sight." 
The soul now calls to mind what love, what kindness, 
what mercy, what grace, what patience has been exer- 
cised towards it. The thoughts of all these now come 
in upon him as streams of water. Such mercy, such 
communion, such privileges, such hopes of glory, such 
tastes of heaven, such peace, such consolation, such joy, 
such communications of the Spirit, all to a poor, wretch- 
ed, cursed, lost, forlorn sinner; and all this despised, 
neglected ; the God of them all provoked, forsaken ! 
Ah! saith the soul, "whither shall I cause my sorrow 
to go 1" This fills him with shame and confusion of 
face ; makes him mourn in secret, and sigh to the break- 
ing of the loins. 

6. The blood and cross of Christ is also brought to 
remembrance by the Holy Ghost. Ah ! saith the soul, 



SINCERE SENSE OF SIN. 61 

have I thus requited the wonderful love of my Redeemer 1 
Is this the return, the requital I have made to him 1 Are 
not heaven and earth astonished at the despising of such 
love 1 This broke Peter's heart, on the look of Christ. 
Such words as these from Christ will, in this condition, 
sound in the ears of the soul: " Did I love thee, and 
leave my glory to become a scorn and reproach for thy 
sake 1 Did I think my life, and all that was dear to me, 
too good for thee, to save thee from the wrath to come \ 
Have I been a wilderness unto thee, or a land of dark- 
ness 1 What could I have done more for thee 1 When I 
had nothing left but my life, it went for thee, that thou 
mightest live by my death, be washed in my blood, and 
be saved through my soul's being made an offering for 
thee ! and hast thou thus requited my love, to prefer a 
lust before me, the world before me, or by mere sloth 
and folly to be turned away from me 1 Go, unkind, un- 
thankful soul, and see if thou canst find another Re- 
deemer." This overwhelms the soul, and even drowns 
it in tears and sorrow. And then the bitterness of the 
sufferings of Christ are brought to mind. u They look 
on Him whom they have pierced, and mourn." Zech. 
12 : 10. They remember his gall and wormwood, his 
cries and tears, his agony and sweat, his desertion and 
anguish, his blood and death, the sharpness of the sword 
that was in his soul, and the bitterness of the cup that 
was put into his hand. Such a soul now looks on Christ, 
bleeding, dying, wrestling with wrath and curse for him, 
and sees his sins in the streams of blood that issued 
from his side ; and all this increases the sense of sin of 
which we speak. 

7. It relates to the communion and consolations of the 
Holy Ghost, with all the privileges and fruits of love we 
are by him made partakers of. The Spirit is given to 
believers, upon the promise of Christ, to dwell in them. 
He takes up their hearts to be his dwelling-place : to 



62 FORGIYEKESS OF SIN. 

what ends and purposes 1 that he may purify and sanc- 
xify them, make them holy, and dedicate them to God ; 
furnish them with graces and gifts, interest them in pri- 
vileges, guide, direct, comfort them, and seal them unto 
the day of redemption. Now this Spirit is grieved by 
sin, Ephes. 4 : 30 ; and his dwelling-place defiled there- 
by. 1 Cor. 6 : 19, and 3 : 17. Thoughts of this greatly 
sharpen the spiritual sense of sin in a recovering soul. 
He considers what light, what love, what joy, what con- 
solation, what privileges he has been made partaker of; 
what warnings to keep him from sin he has received from 
the Spirit ; and says within himself, tr What have I done 1 
whom have I grieved 1 whom have I provoked 1 what if 
the Lord should now, for my folly and ingratitude, ut- 
terly take his Holy Spirit from me 1 what if I should 
have so grieved him that he will dwell in me no more, 
delight in me no more 1 What dismal darkness, yea, 
what utter ruin should I be left unto ! And w 7 hat shame 
and confusion of face belong to me for my wretched 
ingratitude towards him !" 

This is the first thing that appears in the returning 
soul : a sincere sense of sin wrought in it by the Holy 
Ghost. And this a soul in the depths desciibed must 
come to, if ever it expects deliverance. Let not such 
persons expect to have a renewed sense of mercy with- 
out a revived sense of sin. 

II. Hence proceeds an ingenuous, free, gracious ac- 
knowledgmcnt of sin. Men may have a sense of sin, 
and yet suffer it to lie burning as a fire shut up in their 
bones, to their continual disquietude, without coming to 
a free, soul-opening acknowledgment. Yea, confession 
may be made in general, with the mention of that very 
sin in which the soul is most entangled, and yet the 
soul come short of a due performance of this duty. 
Consider how the case stood with David : ,r When I kept 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SIN. 63 

silence, my bones waxed old, through my roaring all the 
day long." Psalm 32 : 3. How could David keep silence, 
and yet roar all the day longl What is that silence 
which is consistent with roaring % It is a mere negation 
of the duty expressed, verse 5, that is intended: "I ac- 
knowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquities I have 
not hid." It was not a silence of submission and wait- 
ing on God : that would not have produced a wasting 
of his spiritual strength, as he complains this silence 
did ] nor yet was it a sullen, stubborn, contumacious 
spirit. He implies, as Calvin well says, " an" affection 
between patience and stubbornness, bordering on the 
one and the other :" that is, he had a deep sense of sin ; 
this disquieted and perplexed him all the day long, which 
he calls his roaring ; it weakened and wearied him, ma- 
king his bones wax old, or his strength decay. Yet was 
he not able to bring his heart to that ingenuous, gracious 
acknowledgment which, like the opening of a festered 
wound, would have given at least some ease to his soul. 
God's children are often, in this matter, like ours : though 
they are convinced of a fault, and are really troubled at 
the thought of it, yet they will hardly acknowledge it. 
So do God's people : they will go up and down, sigh and 
mourn ; but an evil and untoward frame of spirit, under 
the power of unbelief and fear, keeps them from this 
duty. 

Now that this acknowledgment may be acceptable to 
God, it is required that it be free , and that it he full. 

1. It must be free and spiritually ingenuous. Cain, 
Pharaoh, Ahab, Judas, came all to an acknowledgment 
of sin ; but it was whether they would or not. It was 
pressed out of them : it did not willingly flow from them. 
The confession of a person under the convincing terrors 
of the law or dread of threatening judgments, is like 
that of malefactors on the rack, who speak out that for 
which they and their friends must die. What they say, 



64 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

though it be truth, is a fruit of force and torture, not of 
any ingenuousness of mind. So is it with merely con- 
vinced persons ; they come not to the acknowledgment 
of sin with any more freedom ; and the reason is, be- 
cause all sin has shame ! and for men to be free to shame 
is naturally impossible, shame being nature's shrinking 
from itself. But now the returning soul has never more 
freedom, liberty and aptitude of spirit, than when he is 
in the acknowledgment of those things whereof he is 
most ashamed. And this is no small evidence that it 
proceeds from the Spirit, w T hich is attended with liberty; 
for " where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 
3 : 17. When David was delivered from his silence, he 
expresses this spirit in the performance of this duty : 
* f I acknowledged my sin, and mine iniquity I have not 
hid: I said, I will confess my transgression." Psalm 
32 : 5. His mouth is now open and his heart enlarged ; 
and he multiplies one expression upon another, to mani- 
fest his enlargement. So doth a soul, rising out of its 
depths, in the beginning of this address to God. Having 
the true sense of sin wrought in him by the Holy Ghost, 
his heart is made free, and enlarged unto an ingenuous 
acknowledgment of his sin before the Lord. He pours 
out his soul unto God 5 and hath not more freedom in 
any thing than in confessing that of which he is most 
ashamed. 

2. This acknowledgment must also be full. Reserves 
ruin conversion. If the soul have any secret thought 
of rolling a sweet morsel under its tongue, as bowing 
in the house of Rimmon, it is like part of the price kept 
back, which makes the whole a robbery instead of an 
offering. If there be remaining a bitter root of favoring 
any one lust or sin, or any occasion of or temptation to 
sin, let a man be as open, free and earnest as can be 
Imagined in the acknowledgment of all other sins, the 
whole duty is rendered abominable. Some persons, when 



SELF-CONDEMNATION. 65 

they are brought into depths and anguish about any sin, 
and are forced to the acknowledgment of it, are at the 
same time little concerned for their other follies and ini- 
quities, which, it may be, are no less provoking to God ; 
" let not such a man think that he shall receive any thing 
from God." It must be full and comprehensive, as well 
as free and ingenuous. Of such importance is the right 
performance of this duty, that the promise of pardon is 
often peculiarly annexed to it, as that which certainly 
carries along with it the other duties which make up a 
full returning unto God. Prov. 28: 13 3 1 John, 1:9; 
Job, 33 : 27, 28. 

III. There yet remains self-condemnation, with the justi- 
fication of God, w T hich lies expressly in the words of the 
verse under consideration. And in this are two parts. 

1. Self abhorrence or dislike. The soul is now wholly 
displeased with itself, and reflects upon itself w T ith re- 
gret and trouble. So the apostle declares it to have 
been with the Corinthians, when their godly sorrow 
was working in them. 2 Cor. 7:11. Among other 
things, it wrought in them indignation and revenge ; or 
a reflection on themselves, with all manner of dislike 
and abhorrence. In the winding up of the controversy 
between God and Job, this is the point he rests in. 
As he had come in general to a free, full, ingenuous 
acknowledgment of sin, chap. 40 : 4, 5 ; so in particular 
he gives up his whole contest in this abhorrence of 
himself, " I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ash- 
es." M What a vile wretched creature have I been," 
saith the soul, " I blush and am ashamed to think of 
my folly, baseness, and ingratitude ; is it possible that 
I should deal thus with the Lord 1 I abhor, I loathe my- 
self, I would fly any where from myself, I am so vile ; 
a thing to be despised of God, angels and men." 

2. There is self -judging in it also. This the apostle 



66 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

invites the Corinthians to, tT If we would judge our- 
selves, we should not be judged." 1 Cor. 11: 31. This 
is a person's pronouncing sentence on himself, accord- 
ing to the tenor of the law. The soul brings not only- 
its sin, but itself also, to the law. It puts itself, as to 
merit and desert, under the stroke and severity of it. 
Hence arises a full justiiication of God, in what sen- 
tence soever he shall be pleased to pronounce in the 
case before him. 

These three things to which attention has now been 
called, show the state and first actings of a gracious 
soul rising from its depths. They are all of them sig- 
nally expressed in Hosea, 14 : 1-4, where we have a 
signal recovery exemplified. And this makes way for 
the exaltation of grace, the great thing in all this dis- 
pensation aimed at by God. Ephes. 1 : 6. That which 
he is now doing, is to bring the soul to " glory in him," 
which is all the return he hath from his large and in- 
finitely bountiful expense of grace and mercy. Now, 
nothing can render grace conspicuous and glorious un- 
til the soul come to this. Grace will not lie high, until 
the soul be laid very low. And this also prepares the 
soul for receiving mercy in a sense of pardon, the 
great thing aimed at on the part of the sinner ; and it 
prepares it for every incumbent duty. This brings the 
soul to wait on God with diligence and patience. If 
things presently answer not our expectation, we are 
ready to think we have done what we can ; if it will 
be no better, we must bear it as we are able; which 
spirit God abhors. The soul in this state waits the 
pleasure of God, as we shall see in the close of the 
psalm. Oh! says such a one, if ever I obtain a sense 
of love, if ever I enjoy one smile of his countenance 
more, it is unspeakable grace. It is good for me quiet- 
ly to wait and hope for his salvation : and it drives the 
uovil to prayer; yea, a soul always in this frame, prays 



god's marking iniquity. 67 

always. And there is nothing more evident, than that 
the want of a thorough engagement in the performance 
of these duties, is the great cause why so few come 
off clear from their entanglements all their days. Men 
heal their wounds slightly; and therefore, after a new 
painful festering, they are brought into the same con- 
dition of restlessness and trouble which they were in 
before. 

But the soul is not to be left in the state just de- 
scribed. There is other work for it, if it intend to 
come to rest and peace. It hath obtained an eminent 
advantage for the discovery of forgiveness, in a just 
sense of sin, the acknowledgment of it, and self-con- 
demnation. But there are two evils which often attend 
men when they are brought into this state. Some rest 
in it, and press no farther \ some rest upon it, and sup- 
pose that it is all which is required of them. 

1. By resting or staying in it, I mean the soul's de- 
sponding, through discouraging thoughts that deliver- 
ance is not to be obtained. Being made deeply sensi- 
ble of sin, it is so overwhelmed w 7 ith thoughts of its 
own vileness and unworthiness as to sink under the 
burden ; such a soul is " afflicted and tossed with tem- 
pests, and not comforted;" as in a storm at sea, when 
all means of contending are gone, men give up them- 
selves to be driven and tossed by the wind and seas at 
their pleasure. This brought Israel to cry out, " My 
way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed 
over from my God," Isa. 40 : 27 ; and " Zion said, The 
Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten 
»ie," chap. 49 : 14. The soul begins secretly to think 
there is no hope ; God regardeth it not ; it shall one 
day perish ; relief is far away, and trouble nigh at hand. 
These thoughts so oppress them, that though they for- 
sake not God utterly to their own destruction, yet they 



63 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

draw not nigh to him effectually to their consolation. 

This is the first evil that the soul, in this condition, 
is enabled to avoid. We know how God rebukes it in 
Zion: tr Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my 
Lord hath forgotten me.' 5 Isa. 49 : 14. But how foolish 
is Zion, how froward, how unbelieving in this matter! 
what ground hath she for such sinful despondencies, 
such discouraging conclusions \ " Can a woman,'' saith 
the Lord, " forget her sucking child, that she should 
not have compassion on the son of her womb! yea, 
they may forget, but I will not forget thee." Such a 
reproof he gives to Jacob upon a similar complaint, 
chap. 40 : 28, 29, 30. There is nothing more provoking 
to the Lord, or more disadvantageous to the soul, than 
-euch sinful despondency. 

It insensibly weakens the soul and disables it both for 
present and future endeavors. Hence some poor crea- 
tures mourn, and even pine away in this condition, never 
getting one step beyond a perplexing sense of sin all 
their days. Some have dwelt so long upon it, and have 
so entangled themselves with a multitude of perplexing 
thoughts, that at length their natural faculties have been 
weakened, and rendered utterly useless ; so that they 
have lost sense of sin and every thing else. Against 
some Satan hath taken advantage to cast so many en- 
tangling objections into their minds, that their whole 
time hath been taken up in proposing doubts and ob- 
jections against themselves; with these they have gone 
up and down, to one and another, and, being never able 
to come to a consistency in their own thoughts, have 
spent all their days in a fruitless, withering, comfort- 
less condition. Some, with whom things come to a bet- 
ter issue, are yet for a season brought to such discom- 
posure of spirit, or are so filled with their own appre- 
hensions, that when things which are most proper to 
their condition are spoken to them, they make no im- 



GOD'S MASKING INIQUITY. 69 

pression upon them. Thus the soul is weakened by- 
dwelling too long on these considerations; until they 
cry with those in Ezekiel, 33 : 10, " Our sins are upon 
us, we pine away in them, and how shall we then live V 

This state of mind will insensibly give countenance 
to hard thoughts of God, and so to repining, and weari- 
ness in waiting on him. At first, the soul neither appre- 
hends nor fears any such issue : it supposes that it shall 
condemn and abhor itself, and justify God, and that for 
ever ; but when relief comes not, this resolution begins 
to weaken ; secret thoughts arise in the heart that God 
is inexorable ; and it sometimes utters such complaints 
as will bring the soul into new depths before it has an 
issue of its trials. Here, in humiliation preceding con- 
version, many convinced persons perish ; they cannot 
wait God's season, and perish under their impatience. 
Of what the saints of God themselves have been over- 
taken with in their depths and trials, we have many ex- 
amples. Delight and expectation are the grounds of our 
abiding with God; both these are weakened by a con- 
quering prevailing sense of sin, without some relief from 
the discovery of forgiveness, though at a distance; and 
therefore our perplexed soul stays not here, but presses 
on towards that discovery. 

2. There is a resting gu this sense of sin that is nox- 
ious and hurtful. Some finding it, with other things that 
attend it, wrought in them in some measure, begin to 
think that, now all is well, this is all that is required. 
They will endeavor to make a life of comfort from such 
arguments as they can take from their trouble; they 
think this a ground of peace, that they have not peace. 
Here some rest before conversion, and it proves their 
ruin. Because they are convinced of sin, and troubled 
about it, and burdened with it, they think it shall be well 
with them. But were not Cain, Esau, Saul, Ahab, Judas 
convinced of sin, and burdened with it 1 Did this profi* 



10 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

them] Did it interest them in the promises 1 Did not 
the wrath of God overtake them notwithstanding'? So 
it is with many daily ; they think their conviction is con- 
version, and that their sins are pardoned, because they 
have been troubled. 

But this is really a fruit of self-righteousness. For a 
soul to place the spring of its peace or comfort in any 
thing of its own, is to fall short of Christ. We must not 
only be justified, but glory in him also. Isaiah, 45 : 25. 
Men may make use of the evidence of their graces, but 
only as means to a farther end , not as the rest of the 
soul in the least, for this deprives men's very humilia- 
tion of all gospel-humility. True humility consists more 
in believing than in being sensible of sin. In believing 
the soul truly empties and abases itself. A sense of sin 
may consist with an obstinate resolution to scramble for 
something upon the account of self-endeavors. 

Though an evangelical sense of sin be a grace, yet it is 
not the uniting grace which interests us in Christy it 
is not that which peculiarly and in its own nature ex- 
alts him. There is in this sense of sin that which is na- 
tural, and that which is spiritual. The former consists 
in sorrow, trouble, self-abasement, dejection, anxiety of 
mind : of these I may say, as the apostle of afflictions, 
they are not joyous, but grievous. In their own nature 
they are no more than the soul's retreat into itself, with 
an abhorrence of the objects of its sorrow and grief. 
To stop here is to sit down short of Christ, whether it 
be for life or consolation. 

Let there be no mistake. There can be no evangeli- 
cal sense of sin, and humiliation, where there is no union 
with Christ. Zech. 12 : 10. The sense of sin in itself, 
and in its own nature, is not availing. Christ is the 
only rest of our souls. In any thing, for any end or pur- 
pose to take up short of him, is to lose it. It is not 
enough that we be M prisoners of hope," but we must 



god's marking iniquity. 71 

" turn to our strong-hold," Zech. 9 : 12 j not enough 
that we are " weary and laden," but we " must come 
to Him." Matt. 11 : 28, 29. It will not suffice that we 
are weak, and know that we are weak, but we must 
" take hold on the strength of God." Isaiah, 27 : 5. 

Indeed, pressing after forgiveness is the very life and 
power of evangelical humiliation. How shall a man 
know that his humiliation is evangelical, that his sor- 
row is according to Godl He does not do as Cain did, 
who cried his sins were greater than he could bear, and 
so departed from the presence of God; nor as Judas 
did, who repented, and hanged himself; nor as Felix 
cfid, tremble for a while, and then return to his lusts ; 
nor as the Jews did, in the prophet, " pine away under 
their iniquities," because of vexation of heart ; nor doth 
he divert his thoughts to other things, thereby to relieve 
his soul in his trouble ; nor fix upon a righteousness of 
his own i nor slothfully lie down under his perplexity ; 
but in the midst of it he applies himself to God in Christ 
for pardon and mere} 7 '. And it is the souPs application 
unto God for forgiveness, and not its sense of sin, that 
gives to God the glory of his grace. 



CHAPTER IV 



DISCOVERY OF FORGIVENESS 

" Bui there is forgiveness with Thee, thai thou mayesi 
be feared ." Verse 4. 

Forgiveness is from a Hebrew word signifying to 
spare, to pardon, to be propitious, in opposition to a 
similar word meaning to cut off and destroy. Jerome, 
with the Septuagint, renders it * f propitiation," which 



72 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

implies more than pardon. The word is constantly ap- 
plied to sin, and expresses every thing that concurs to 
its pardon or remission. 

It implies the mind and will of pardoning, or God's 
gracious readiness to forgive. :t Thou, Lord, art good, 
and ready to forgive ;" that is, benign and meek, or 
sparing and propitious. It also regards the act of par- 
doning, or actual forgiveness itself. " Who forgiveth 
all thine iniquities ;" actually discharges thee of them. 
This is the word God uses in the covenant, in that great 
promise of grace and pardon, Jer. 31 : 34-. It is war- 
rantable for us 7 yea, necessary, to take the word in the 
utmost extent of its signification and use. It is a word 
of favor, and requires an interpretation tending towards 
the enlargement of it. We see it may be rendered pro- 
pitiation, or grace 5 and also pardon ; and may denote 
these three things : 

The gracious, tender, merciful heart and will of God, 
who is the God of pardons and forgiveness. 

A respect unto Jesus Christ, the only propitiation for 
sin, as he is expressly called, Rom. 3 : 25 ; 1 John, 2 : 2, 
mediating between the gracious heart of God and the 
actual pardon of sinners : all forgiveness is founded on 
propitiation. 

It also denotes condonation, or forgiveness, as we are 
made partakers of it : comprising it both actively, as it 
is an act of grace in God; and passively, as terminated 
in our souls, with the deliverance that attends it. In 
this sense, as it looks downwards, and in its effects re- 
spects us, it is of mere grace; and as it looks upwards 
to its causes, and respects the Lord Christ, it is from 
propitiation, or atonement, as this is that pardon which 
is administered in the covenant of grace. 

The import of these words in their connection in this 
psalm, and their relation to the state of the soul here 
mentioned, seems to be this : 



DISCOVERY OF FORGIVENESS. 73 

* f Although, O Lord, no man can approach unto thee, 
or stand before thee, if thou shouldst mark his sins and 
follies according to the tenor of the law, nor could he 
serve so great and holy a God ; yet because I know, 
from thy revelation of it, that there is also with thee, 
on account of Jesus Christ the propitiation, pardon and 
forgiveness, I am encouraged to continue with thee ? 
waiting on thee, worshipping thee ; when, without this 
discovery, I should rather choose to have rocks and 
mountains fall upon me to hide me from thy presence. 
But there is forgiveness with thee, and therefore thou 
shalt be feared." 

From the words thus unfolded the ensuing proposi- 
tions arise : 

Faith's discovery of forgiveness in God, though it 
have no present sense of its own peculiar interest there- 
in, is the great support of a sin-perplexed soul. 

Gospel-forgiveness, the discovery of which is the sole 
support of sin-distressed souls, relates to the gracious 
heart or good-will of the Father, the God of forgive- 
ness; the propitiation made by the blood of the Son; and 
free pardon, according to the covenant of grace. 

Faith's discovery of forgiveness in God is the sole 
foundation of adherence to him, in acceptable worship 
and reverential obedience. 

My immediate aim is to confirm and illustrate the first 
cf these propositions. I therefore proceed to show: 

That there is not the least encouragement to a sinner 
to deal with God without this discovery of forgiveness 
in him ; 

That this discovery is a matter great, holy and mys- 
terious, and which few, on gospel-abiding grounds, at- 
tain to ; 

That yet this is a great, sacred and infallible truth ; and 

That it is a stable support to a sin-distressed soul. 

Forgiveness. * 



74» FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

There is not the least encouragement for a sinner's 
approaching God without this discovery. All else is cov- 
ered with a deluge of wrath 5 this is the only ark where 
the soul may repair and find rest 5 all without it is dark- 
ness, curse and terror. 

We have an instance of it in Adam. When he knew 
himself to be a sinner, and it was impossible for him to 
discover forgiveness with God, he laid aside all thoughts 
of treating with him 5 the best of his foolish contrivance 
w r as for an escape, " I heard thy voice in the garden, and 
was afraid, because I was naked $ and I hid myself." 
Gen. 3 : 10. Nothing but, Thou shalt die the death, 
sounded in his ears. In the morning of that day he had 
converse and communion with God, with boldness and 
peace ) why then does nothing but fear, flying, hiding, 
now possess him % Adam had sinned ; the promise was 
not yet given ; no revelation was made of forgiveness in 
God ; and what other course, than that vain and foolish 
one, to fix upon, he knew not. No more can any of his 
posterity, without this revelation. Whatever has been 
the resort of any one, it has been no less foolish than 
his hiding ; and in most, more pernicious. When Cain 
had received his sentence from God, it is said, " He 
went out from the presence of the Lord." Gen. 4< : 16. 
From his providential presence he could never with- 
draw himself 5 so the Psalmist informs us at large. Psalm 
139 : 7-9. 

The very heathen knew, by the light of nature, that 
guilt could never drive men out of the reach of God. 
They knew that the vengeance of God would not spare 
sinners, nor could it be avoided. Acts, 2S : 4. From 
God's gracious presence, which Cain never enjoyed, he 
could not depart. It was, then, God's presence as to his 
worship, and all outward acts of communion, that he 
forsook and departed from. He had no discovery by 
faith of forgiveness, and therefore resolved to have no 



DISCOVERY OF FORGIVENESS. 75 

more to do with God, or those who cleaved to him. 

" The sinners in Zion are afraid, fearfulness hath sur- 
prised the hypocrites; who among us shall dwell with 
devouring fire ! who among us shall dwell with ever- 
lasting burnings V Isaiah, 33 : 14. The persons spoken 
of are sinners, great sinners, and hypocrites ; conviction 
of sin, and the desert of sin, was fallen upon them; a 
light to discern forgiveness they had not ; they appre- 
hend God only as devouring fire and everlasting burn- 
ings — one that would not spare, but would assuredly 
inflict punishment according to the desert of sin ) and 
hence there was no abiding, no enduring his presence. 

The condition into which this consideration brings 
the souls of sinners when conviction grows strong upon 
them, the Holy Ghost declares, Micah, 6 : 6, 7. " Where- 
with shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself be- 
fore the high God ! shall I come before him with burnt- 
offerings, with calves of a year old ! will the Lord be 
pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands 
of rivers of oil! shall I give my first-born for my trans- 
gression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul!" 
Sense of sin presseth, forgiveness is not discovered, and 
how does the poor creature perplex itself in vain, to find 
out a way of dealing with God ! Will a sedulous and 
diligent observation of his own ordinances and institu- 
tions relieve me ! " shall I come before him with burnt- 
offerings, and calves of a year old!" Alas! thou art a 
sinner, and these sacrifices cannot make thee perfect, 
or acquit thee! Heb. 10 : 1. Shall I do more than ever 
he required of any of the sons of men ! " O that I had 
thousands of rams, and ten thousands of rivers of oil, to 
offer him!" Alas! if thou hadst all the bulls and goats 
in the world, it is not possible that their blood should 
take away sin. ver 4. But I have heard of them who 
have snatched away their own children from their mo- 
thers' breasts, and cast them into the fire until they were 



76 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

consumed, so to pacify their conscience in expiating 
the guilt of their iniquities: shall I take this coursed 
will it relieve me ] I am ready to part with my first-born 
into the fire, so that I may have deliverance from my 
transgressions. Alas! to accept of such offerings never 
entered the heart of God. And so is it still as to any 
duties man can perform. Where there is no discovery 
of forgiveness they will yield the soul no relief, no sup- 
port; God is not to be treated with upon such terms. 
Hence, 

This discovery of forgiveness in God is great, holy, 
and mysterious, and which very few on gospel-grounds 
attain to. 

All men indeed say there is forgiveness; and most 
men are persuaded that they think so; only men in great 
and desperate extremities, like Cain or Spira, seem to 
call it into question. But their thoughts are empty, yea, 
for the most part, wicked and atheistical. They think 
that "God is altogether such an one as themselves;" 
that indeed he takes little or no care about sin, but 
passes it over as lightly as they do. In the progress of 
this work I shall show that, notwithstanding all their 
pretences, the most of men never had, indeed, any real 
discovery of forgiveness, and point out the difference 
between their vain credulity and a gracious gospel-dis- 
covery of forgiveness in God. This discovery includes 
both the revelation of it made by God, and our under- 
standing and reception of that revelation to our own 
advantage. 

The grounds of the difficulty of making this discovery 
consist partly in the ihnderanges that lie in the way of 
it ; and partly in the nature of the thing discovered : of 
both which I shall briefly treat. 

1. The constant voice of conscience lies against the 



DISCOVERY OF FORGIVENESS. 77 

discovery of forgiveness. Conscience, if not seared, in- 
exorably condemns, and pronounces wrath on the soul 
that has the least guilt cleaving to it. It lies close to 
the soul, and by importunity and loud speaking it will 
be heard. It will make the whole soul attend, or it will 
speak like thunder. And its constant voice is, that where 
there is guilt there must be judgment. Eom. 2 : M, 15. 
Conscience naturally knows nothing of forgiveness \ yea, 
it is against its very work and office, to hear any thing 
of it. If a man of courage and honesty be intrusted to 
keep a garrison against an enemy, let one come and tell 
him that peace is made between those whom he serves 
and their enemies, so that he may leave his guard, and 
set open the gates, and cease his watchfulness \ how 
wary will he be, lest, under this pretence, he be betrayed ! 
No, saith he, I will keep my hold until I have express 
orders from my superiors. Conscience is intrusted with 
the power of God in the soul of a sinner, with command 
to keep all in subjection, with reference to the judgment 
to come 5 it will not betray its trust, in believing every 
report of peace. No S it says, and speaks in the name 
of God : " Guilt and punishment are inseparable ;" if the 
soul sin, God will judge. What tell you me of forgive- 
ness \ I know what my commission is, and that I will 
abide by \ you shall not bring a superior commander into 
my trust. 

Now, whom should a man believe, if not his own con- 
science 1 which, as it will not flatter him, so it intends 
not to affright him — but to speak the truth as the 
matter requires. Conscience has two works in refer- 
ence to sin J one to condemn the acts of sin, another 
to judge the person of the sinner ; both with reference 
to the judgment of God. When forgiveness comes, it 
would sever these offices, and take one of them out of 
the hand of conscience ; it will condemn the sin ; but 
it shall no more condemn the sinner, he shall be freed 



78 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

from its sentence. Here conscience labors to keep its 
whole dominion, and to keep the power of forgiveness 
from being enthroned in the soul. 

Nor indeed is it any easy; work to deal with it. The 
apostle tells us, that all the sacrifices of the law could 
not do it, Heb. 10 : 2 ; they could not bring a man into 
that state in which he should have " no more con- 
science of sin;" that is, conscience condemning the 
person ; for conscience, in causing a sense of sin, and 
the condemnation of it, is never to be taken away. 
And this can be no otherwise done but by the blood of 
Christ, as the apostle at large there declares. 

It is no easy thing, then, to make a discovery of for- 
giveness to a soul, when conscience lies in opposition 
to it. Hence is the soul's great desire to establish its 
own righteousness, whereby its natural principles may 
be preserved in their power. Let self-righteousness be 
enthroned, and natural conscience desires no more ; it 
is satisfied, and pacified. The law it knows, but as for 
forgiveness it says, Whence is it ] Unto the utmost, 
until Christ perfects his conquest, there are, on this ac- 
count, secret strugglings in the heart against free par- 
don in the Gospel, and fluctuations of mind about it. 
Yea, hence are the doubts and fears of believers them- 
selves : they are nothing but the strivings of conscience 
to keep its whole dominion, to condemn the sinner as 
well as the sin. More or less, it keeps up its preten- 
sions against the Gospel whilst we live in this world. 
It is a great work that the blood of Christ hath to do 
upon the conscience of a sinner ; for whereas it hath 
a power, and claims a right, to condemn both sin and 
sinner, the one part of this power is to be cleared, 
strengthened, made more active, vigorous and watch- 
ful; the other to be taken quite away : it shall now see 
more sins than formerly, more of the vileness of all 
sins than formerly, and condemn them with more ab- 



DISCOVERY OF FORGIVENESS. 79 

horrenee than ever, upon more and more glorious ac- 
counts than formerly 3 but it is also made to see an in- 
terposition between these sins and the person of the 
sinner who hath committed them 5 which is no small 
or ordinary work. 

2. The law lies against this discovery of forgiveness. 
The law is a beam of the holiness of God him self 5 
what it speaks to us, it speaks in the name and authori- 
ty of God, 

It is certain that the law knows neither mercy nor for- 
giveness* Its very sanction lies wholly against forgive- 
ness : fr The soul that sinneth shall die. Cursed is he 
that continueth not in all things written in the book 
of the law to do them." Ezek. 18:4; Deut. 27 : 26. 
Hence the apostle pronounces universally, without ex- 
ception, that they who are " under the law are under 
the curse, ,, Gal. 3 : 10 ; and, saith he, verse 12, " The 
law is not of faith." There is an inconsistency between 
the law and. believing ; they cannot have their abode in 
power together. Do this, and live ; fail, and die ; is 
the constant immutable voice of the law. This it speaks 
in general to all, and this in particular to every one. 

And further, the sinner seems to have manifold and 
weighty reasons to attend to the voice of this law, and 
to acquiesce in its sentence. For, 

The law is connatural to him; his domestic, his old. 
acquaintance : it came into the world with him, and 
hath grown up with him from his infancy; it was im- 
planted in his heart by nature ; he can never shake it 
off, or part with it. It is his familiar, his friend, that 
cleaves to him as the flesh to the bone ; so that they 
who have not the law written, cannot but " show forth 
the work of the law," Rom. 2: 14, 15, and that because 
the law itself is inbred in them, and all the faculties of 
the soul are at peace with it, in subjection to it. It is 
the bond of their union, harmony and correspondence 



80 FORGIVENESS OF SIX. 

among themselves, in all their moral actings ; it gives 
life, order, motion to them all. Now, the Gospel, 
which comes to control this sentence of the law, and to 
relieve the sinner from it, is foreign to his nature, a 
strange thing to him, a thing he hath no acquaintance 
or familiarity with ; it hath not been bred up with him; 
nor is there any thing in him to side with it, to make 
a party for it, or plead in its behalf. 

Again, the law speaks nothing to a sinner but what 
his conscience assures him to be true. There is a con- 
stant concurrence in the testimony of the law and con- 
science. When the law says, this or that is a sin 
worthy of death, conscience says, it is even so: and 
where the law of itself, as being a general rule, rests, 
conscience helps it on, and says, of this and that sin 
worthy of death, is the soul guilty: then die, saith 
the law, as thou hast deserved. Now, this must have 
a mighty efficacy to prevail with the soul to give credit 
to the testimony of the law 5 it speaks not one word 
but what he has a witness to within himself. These 
witnesses always agree 5 and so it seems to be estab- 
lished for a truth, that there is no forgiveness. 

The law, also, though it speaks against the soul's 
interest, yet speaks nothing but what is so just, righ- 
teous and equal, that it forces the soul's consent. So 
Paul tells us, that men "know this voice of the law to 
be the judgment of God." Rom. 1 : 32. They know it, 
and cannot but consent to it, that it is the judgment of 
God, — that it is good, righteous, equal. And indeed 
what can be more righteous than its sentence 1 It 
commands obedience to the God of life and death, 
promises a reward, and declares, that for non-per- 
formance of duty, death will be inflicted. These terms 
are good, righteous, holy ; the soul accepts them, and 
knows not what it can desire better or more just. This 
the apostle insists upon, Rom. 7: 12, 13. " Wherefore 



DISCOVERY OF FORGIVENESS. 81 

the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, 
and good; was then that which is good made death 
nnto me 1 God forbid: bat sin, that it might appear 
sin, working death in me by that which is good, that 
sin by the commandment might become exceeding sin- 
ful." Wherever the blame falls, the soul cannot but 
acquit the law, and confess that what it says is right. 
Now, though the authority and credit of a witness may 
go very far in a doubtful matter, when there is a con- 
currence of more witnesses it strengthens the testi- 
mony ; but nothing is so prevalent to beget belief, as 
when the things spoken are themselves just and good, 
not liable to any reasonable exception. And so is it in 
this case ; unto the authority of the law, and concur- 
rence of conscience, is added the reasonableness and 
equity of the thing itself, even in the judgment of the sin- 
ner ; namely, that every sin shall be punished, and every 
transgression receive a meet recompense of reward. 

But yet farther : what the law says, it speaks in the 
name and authority of God : what it says, then, must be 
believed, or we make God a liar. It comes not in its 
own name, but in the name of Him who appointed it. 
You will say then, Is it so indeed 1 Is there no forgive- 
ness with God % for this is the constant voice of the law, 
which you say speaks in the name and authority of God, 
and is therefore to be believed. I answer briefly, with the 
apostle, " What the law speaks, it speaks to them that 
are under the law:" it doth not speak to them that are 
in Christ, whom the " law of the Spirit of life hath set 
free from the law of sin and death." But to them that 
are under the law it speaks, and it speaks the very truth ; 
and it speaks in the name of God, and its testimony 
is to be received. It says there is no forgiveness in God 
to them that are under the law \ and they that flatter 
themselves with a contrary persuasion, will find them- 
selves wofully mistaken at the great day. 

4* 



82 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

From these and similar considerations, I say, there 
seems a great deal of reason why the soul should con- 
clude that it will be according to the testimony of the 
law, and that he shall not find forgiveness. Law and 
conscience close together, and insinuate themselves in- 
to the mind and judgment of a sinner. They strengthen, 
the testimony of one another, and greatly prevail. If 
any are otherwise minded, I leave them to the trial : if 
ever God awakened their consciences to a thorough 
performance of their duty, if ever he opened their souls 
and let in the light and power of the law upon them, 
they will find it no small work to grapple with them. 
I am sure that generally they prevail so far, that, in the 
preaching of the Gospel, we have great cause to say, 
*' Lord, who hath believed our report V We come with 
our report of forgiveness, but who believes it 1 by whom 
is it received % Neither do the light, or conscience, or 
conversation of most men allow us to suppose it is em- 
braced. 

The prevalent impressions of men, concerning the na- 
ture and justice of God, also lie against this discovery. 
There are in all men by nature, indelible impressions of 
the holiness and purity of God, of his justice and hatred 
of sin, of his invariable righteousness in the govern- 
ment of the world. Their inward thought is, that God 
is an avenger of sin ; that it belongs to his government 
of the world, his holiness and righteousness, to take 
care that every sin be punished. All men know, as al- 
ready observed, Rom. 1 : 32, that it is a righteous thing 
with God to fender tribulation to sinners. From thence 
is that fear which surprises men at an apprehension of 
the presence of God ; or of any thing that may seem to 
come on his errand. This notion, of God's avenging 
all sin, everts itself secretly, but effectually. So Adam 
trembled, and hid himself: and it was the saying of old, 
" I have seen God, and shall die." When men are under 



PRESUMPTIONS OF FORGIVENESS. 83 

any dreadful providence, thunderings, lightnings, tem- 
pests, or in darkness, they tremble, not so much at what 
they see, or hear, or feel, as from their secret thoughts 
that God is nigh, and that he is a consuming (ire. 

Now, these inbred notions lie universally against all 
apprehensions of forgiveness; which must be brought 
into the soul from without, having no principle of nature 
to promote them. 

Thus it appears that a real, solid discovery of forgive- 
ness is indeed a great work ; many difficulties and hin- 
derances lie in the way of its accomplishment. 

We proceed to expose some of the false presumptions 
of forgiveness, with which men deceive themselves. It 
may be objected as to the considerations just adduced, 
that we find men abundantly ready to expect forgiveness 
from God. What so common as, " God is merciful V 
Are not the convictions of most men stifled by this 
soothing apprehension ! Is it not a common complaint, 
that men presume on it, to their eternal ruin % 

I answer, the folly of poor souls in their presuming 
on forgiveness, can never be enough lamented , it is 
one thing to embrace a cloud, a shadow, and another 
to have the truth in reality. I shall hereafter show the 
true nature of forgiveness, and wherein it consists, 
whereby the vanity of this self- deceiving will be ex- 
posed. It will appear in the issue, that notwithstanding 
all their pretensions, the most of men know nothing at 
all, or not any thing to the purpose, of true forgiveness. 
I therefore proceed to show, in some few observations, 
how far this delusion of many differs from a true gos- 
pel-discovery of forgiveness. 

An atheistical presumption that God is not so just and 
kohj, or not just and holy in such a manner as he is re- 
presented, is the ground on which multitudes persuade 
themselves of forgiveness. Men think that some declara- 



84 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

tions of God are fitted only to make them mad : that 
he takes little notice of their sins, and those he does no- 
tice, he will easily pass by, as they suppose better be- 
comes him. Come, " let us eat and drink, for to-mor- 
row we die." Their inward thought is, " The Lord will 
not do good, neither will he do evil," which, says the 
Psalmist, is men's " thinking that God is such a one as 
themselves." Psalm 50 : 21. They have no deep nor seri- 
ous thoughts of his greatness, holiness, purity, severity, 
but think he is like themselves, so far as not to be 
much moved with what they do. What thoughts they 
have of sin, the same they think God has. If, with them, 
a slight ejaculation be enough to expiate sin so that their 
consciences are no more troubled, they think the same 
is enough with God, so that it will not be punished. The 
generality of men make light of sin ; and he that has slight 
thoughts of sin, had never great thoughts of God. Indeed, 
men's undervaluing of sin arises from their contempt 
of God. The evil of sin flows from its relation to God ; 
and as men's apprehensions are of God, so will they be 
of sin. This is the state of most men $ they know little 
of God, and are little troubled about any thing that re- 
lates to him. God is not reverenced, sin is but a trifle, 
forgiveness a matter of nothing ; whoso will, may have 
it for asking! But shall this atheistical wicked?iess of the 
heart of man be accounted a discovery offorgivejiess ? Is 
not this to make God an idol 1 He who is not acquaint- 
ed with God's holiness and purity, who knows not sin's 
desert and sinfulness, knows nothing of forgiveness. 

From the doctrines of the Gospel commonly preached 
there is also a vague notion in the minds of men that 
God is ready to forgive — a mere speculative apprehen- 
sion of this truth, without any real satisfactory founda- 
tion of that apprehension as to themselves. This they 
have heard, this they have been often told, and a gene- 
ral persuasion spreads itself over all to whom the sound 



PEESUMPTIONS OF FORGIVENESS. 85 

of the Gospel comes. It is not a real reception of the 
Gospel, but is an opinion growing out of the report of it. 
Hence I shall briefly show the differences between this 
common prevailing apprehension of forgiveness and 
faith's discovery of it to the soul in its power. 

1. The prevailing apprehension is loose and vague — a 
truth received speculatively, and not in its power. It 
wants fixedness and foundation \ which defects accom- 
pany all notions of the mind that are only retained in 
the memory, not implanted in the judgment. They hear 
that God is merciful, and as such they intend to deal 
with him. For the true foundation on which the pure 
and holy God, who will do no iniquity- — the righteous 
God, whose judgment it is, that they who commit sin 
are worthy of death — should yet pardon iniquity, they 
weigh not, they consider not. They take it for granted 
that so it is,- and never seriously inquire how it comes 
to be so i and that because they have no real concern 
about it. How many thousands may we meet, who take 
it for granted that forgiveness is to be had with God, 
and yet never had any serious exercise in their souls 
about the grounds of it, and its consistency with his 
holiness and justice ! But those who know it by faith, 
have a sense of it fixed particularly and distinctly on 
their minds. They have ascertained the grounds of it in 
Christ; so that, on a good and unquestionable founda- 
tion, they can go to God and say, " There is forgive- 
ness with thee." They see how more glory comes to 
God by forgiveness than by punishing sin ; which is a 
matter that the other sort of men are not at all solicitous 
about. If they may escape punishment, whether God 
have any glory or not, for the most part they are indif- 
ferent. 

2. Those who indulge this false apprehension, have 
not been brought by the power of their convictions and 
distress of conscience to make the earnest inquiry whether 



86 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

this be so. Their confidence is not the result of a deep 
inquiry after peace and rest ; it is antecedent to trial and 
experience ; and so is not faith, but opinion. For although 
faith be not experience, it is inseparable from it. Distress 
in the conscience has been prevented by this opinion, not 
removed. The reason why most men are not troubled 
about their sins to any purpose, is a persuasion that God 
is merciful and will pardon ; when, indeed, none can real- 
ly, on gospel-grounds, have that persuasion, but those 
who have been deeply troubled for sin. Those who make 
this discovery by faith have had conflicts in their own 
spirits, and, being deprived of peace, have made dili- 
gent search whether forgiveness were to be obtained. 
The persuasion they have of it, be it more or less, is 
the issue of a trial they have had in their own souls, of 
an inquiry how things stood between God and them, as 
to their acceptance with him. 

This is a vast difference : the one class might possi- 
bly have had trouble in their consciences about sin, had 
it not been for their opinion of forgiveness : this has 
prevented or stifled their convictions, not healed their 
wounds, which is the work of the Gospel 5 but it has 
kept them from being wounded, and lulled them into se- 
curity. Yea, here lies the ruin of most who perish under 
the preaching of the Gospel : they have received the 
general notion of pardon; it floats in their minds, and 
promptly presents itself to their relief on all occasions. 
Does God at anytime, in the dispensation of the word, 
under an affliction, or the outbreaking of some hein- 
ous sin, begin to deal with their conscience ; before 
their conviction can ripen they choke it, and heal their 
conscience with this notion of pardon. Many a man, be- 
tween the house of God and his dwelling, is thus cured. 
You may see them go away shaking their heads, and 
striking on their breasts, and, before they come home, 
be as whole as ever : rr Well ! God is merciful, there is 



PRESUMPTIONS OF FORGIVENESS. 87 

pardon," hath wrought the cure. But the other class 
have obtained their persuasion as a result of the disco- 
very of Christ in the Gospel, upon a full conviction. 

3. These delusive hopes of forgiveness work no love 
to God, no delight in him, no reverence of him. None 
deal worse with God than those who have an unground- 
ed persuasion of forgiveness ; and if they seem to fear 
him, or love him, or obey him in any thing, it is from 
other motives and considerations, which will not render 
any thing they do acceptable. Carnal boldness, formali- 
ty, and despising of God, are the common issues of such 
a persuasion. Indeed, this is the generation of great 
sinners in the world ) men who have a general appre- 
hension, but not a sense of the special power of pardon, 
Where faith makes a discovery of forgiveness, all things 
are otherwise. Great love, fear, and reverence of God 
are its attendants. Mary Magdalen loved much, because 
much was forgiven. Great love will spring out of great 
forgiveness. " There is forgiveness with thee, (saith 
the Psalmist,) that thou mayest be feared." No unbe- 
liever truly and experimentally knows the truth of this 
inference. 

4. This delusive apprehension of the pardon of sin 
begets no serious thorough haired and detestation of sin , 
but rather secretly insinuates into the soul encourage- 
ment to continue in it. It tends to lessen and extenuate 
sin, and to support the soul against its convictions. So 
Jude tells us, that some " turn the grace of God into 
lasciviousness." But how can they do this ^ Will what 
was once grace ever become wantonness'? It is their 
perversion of the doctrine of grace, not of real grace, 
that is intended. The doctrine of forgiveness may be 
thus abused. From hence do men, who have only a gene- 
ral notion of it, habitually draw secret encouragements 
to sin and folly. Paul informs us that carnal men are 
very apt to make such conclusions. Rom. 6:1. And it 



88 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

will appear at the last day, how unspeakably this glori- 
ous grace has been perverted in the world. It would be 
well for many if they had never heard the name of for- 
giveness. It is otherwise where this revelation is re- 
ceived indeed in the soul by believing. Rom. 6 : 14. 
Our being under grace, under the power of the belief 
of forgiveness, is our great preservative frcm being un- 
der the power of sin. Faith of forgiveness is the prin- 
ciple of gospel obedience. Titus, 2 : 11, 12. 

5. This vague notion of forgiveness brings with it no 
sweetness, no rest to the soul. Flashes of joy it may, abid- 
ing rest it doth not. The truth of the doctrine fluctuates 
to and fro in the minds of those that have it, but their 
wills and affections have no solid delight nor rest by it. 
Hence, notwithstanding all the professions made in the 
world, of forgiveness, most men ultimately seek for 
peace and comfort from themselves. Every one, in his 
several ways, pleases himself with what he does in an- 
swer to his own convictions, and is disquieted as to his 
state according as he seems to himself to come short 
of the mark he had fixed. One duty yields him more 
repose than many thoughts of forgiveness. But faith 
finds sweetness and rest in forgiveness with God : it is 
the only harbor of the soul: it leads a man to God, to 
Christ as his rest. Fading vanishing joys do oft-times 
attend the one ; but solid delight, and constant obedi- 
ence, are the fruits of the other only. 

6. Those who have the former only, take up their 
persuasion on false grounds, and cannut but use it to 
false ends and purposes. Self-righteousness is their de- 
pendence, and when that is too short or too narrow to 
cover them, they piece it out by forgiveness. Where 
conscience accuses, this must supply the defect. Faith, 
on the contrary, lays it on its proper foundation, and 
uses it to its proper end, ns the sole and only ground 
of our acceptance with God. That is the proper use 



NATURE OF FORGIVENESS. 89 

of forgiveness, that all may be of grace ; for when the 
foundation is pardon, the whole superstructure must be 
grace. Thus it is evident that, notwithstanding the pre- 
tences to the contrary, insinuated in the objection now 
removed, it is a great thing to have gospel-forgiveness 
discovered to a soul in a saving manner. 



CHAPTER V. 



NATURE OF FORGIVENESS. 

I now proceed to inquire into the nature of that par- 
don which poor convinced troubled souls seek after, 
and which the Scriptures propose to them, for their re- 
lief and rest. And, as before, I shall not treat the sub- 
ject absolutely or abstractly, but in its practical relation 
to the truth we have been considering : that it is a great 
thing to attain to a true gospel-discovery of forgiveness. 

I. As already shown, forgiveness has relation to the 
gracious heart of the Father \ including both the infi- 
nite goodness and graciousness of his nature 3 and the 
sovereign purpose of his will and grace. The infinite 
goodness of his nature is here exhibited. Sin stands in 
contrariety to God : it is rebellion against his sovereign- 
ty, opposition to his holiness, a provocation to his jus- 
tice, a rejection of his yoke, a casting off of the crea- 
ture's dependence on its Creator. That God, then, sbould 
have pity and compassion on sinners, in every one of 
whose sins there is inconceivably more evil than we 
can comprehend, argues an infinitely gracious nature 
in him. 



90 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

That this is the head or spring from which forgive- 
ness flows, is manifest from this solemn proclamation 
which he made of old of his name, " The Lord, the Lord 
God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abun- 
dant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thou- 
sands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin." 
Exod. 34 : 6, 7. Having made this known to be his 
name, and thereby declared his nature, he, in many 
places, proposes it as a relief, a refuge for sinners, an 
encouragement to come to him, and to wait for mercy 
from him. " They that know thy name, will put their 
trust in thee," Psalm 9 : 10 5 others have no foundation 
of their confidence. But if this name of God be indeed 
made known to us by the Holy Ghost, why should we 
not repair to him, and rest upon him 1 So Isaiah, 1 : 10. 
" Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obey- 
eth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness 
and hath no light, let him trust in the name of the Lord, 
and stay upon his God." Not only sinners, but sinners 
in great distress, who walk in darkness, are here spoken 
to, and called " to trust in the name of the Lord." I have 
shown that nothing but forgiveness is of use to one in 
distress on account of sin ; yet is such an one here sent 
to the name of the Lord, wherein his gracious heart and 
nature is revealed. That, then, is the very fountain and 
spring of forgiveness, and what John would impress a 
sense of upon our souls, where he tells us that " God is 
love." Infinite goodness and grace is the soil wherein 
forgiveness grows. It is impossible that this flower 
should spring from any other root 5 unless this be re- 
vealed to the soul, forgiveness is not revealed. To con- 
sider pardon merely as it is terminated on ourselves, 
not as it flows from God, will bring neither profit to us 
nor glory to God. 

This discovery of forgiveness, in God, is, as we have 
said, no common thing, it is a great discovery. Let 



NATURE OF FORGIVENESS. 91 

men come, with a sense of the guilt of sin, to have deep 
and serious thoughts of God, and they will find it no 
easy matter truly and thoroughly to apprehend this 
loving and gracious nature of God, in reference to par- 
don. Though men profess that God is gracious, yet 
their aversion to him and communion with him, abun- 
dantly manifests that they do not believe what they say : 
if they did, they could not but delight and trust in him, 
for " they that know his name will put their trust in 
him." So the slothful servant in the Gospel said, u I 
knew that thou wast austere," and not for me to deal 
with ; it may be he professed otherwise before, but that 
lay in his heart when it came to the trial. But this, I 
say, is necessary to those to whom this discovery is to 
be made — even a spiritual apprehension of the gracious, 
loving heart and nature of God. This is the spring of 
all that follows 5 and the fountain must be infinitely 
sweet from which such streams do flow. He that con- 
siders the glorious fabric of heaven and earth, with the 
things contained in them, must conclude that they were 
the product of tr infinite wisdom and power ;" and he 
that really considers forgiveness, and looks on it with a 
spiritual eye, must conclude that it comes from infinite 
goodness and grace. " Thou, Lord, art good, and ready 
to forgive." Psalm £6 : 5. tr Thou art a God ready to 
pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of 
great kindness." Nehem. 9 : 17. " Who is a God like un- 
to thee, that pardoneth iniquity 1 — because he delighteth 
in mercy." Micah, 7 : 18. When a sinner is in good 
earnest seeking after forgiveness, there is nothing he is 
more solicitous about than the heart of God towards 
him ; nothing that he more labors to discover ; there is 
nothing that sin and Satan labor more to hide from him ; 
this he rolls in his mind, and exercises his thoughts about ; 
and if ever that voice of God, " Fury is not in me," sound 
in his heart, he is relieved from his great distresses, 



92 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

This fear of our hearts our Savior seems to intend 
to prevent or remove, John, 16 : 26, 27. " I say not that I 
will pray the Father for yon, for the Father himself 
loveth you." The disciples had good thoughts of the 
tender heart and care of Christ himself, the Media- 
tor, towards them : but what is the heart of the Fa- 
ther, what acceptance shall they find with him I Will 
Christ pray that they may find favor with him 1 Why, 
saith he, as to the love of his heart, there is no need 
of it j " for the Father himself loveth you." If this, 
then, belongs to forgiveness, as whoever has sought 
for it well knows, it is certainly no common discovery 
to have it revealed to us. 

To have all the clouds and darkness raised by sin, be- 
tween us and the throne of God, dispelled j to have the 
fire, and storms, and tempests, that are kindled and stir- 
red up about him by the law, removed ; to have his glo- 
rious face unveiled, and his holy heart laid open, and a 
view of those infinite treasures and stores of goodness, 
mercy, love, and kindness, which have had an unchange- 
able habitation therein from all eternity; to have a dis- 
covery of these eternal springs of forbearance and for- 
giveness, is what none but Christ can accomplish. John, 
17 : 6. But this is not all. 

This eternal ocean of divine love, that is infinitely satis- 
fied with its own fulness and perfection, does not natu- 
rally yield forth streams for our refreshment. Mercy and 
pardon do not come forth from God, as light from the 
sun, or water from the sea, by a necessary consequence 
of their natures, whether they will or not. It does not 
Lecessarily follow that any one must be made partaker 
of forgiveness because God is infinitely gracious: for 
. he not do what he will with his own ! " Who hath 
given first unto him, that it should be recompensed un- 
to him again 1" Rom. 11 : 33. All the fruits of God's 
dness and grace are in the sole keeping of his own 



NATURE OF FORGIVENESS. 93 

sovereign will and pleasure. This is his great glory, 
Exod. 33 : 18, 19. " Show me thy glory," saith Moses. 
"And he said, I will make all my goodness to pass be- 
fore thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord be- 
fore thee ; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gra- 
cious." Upon that proclamation of the name of God,, 
that he is "merciful, gracious, long-suffering, abundant 
in goodness," some might conclude, that it could not 
but be well with all ; nay, saith he, but this is my great 
glory, that "I will be gracious to whom I will be gra- 
cious." There must be an interposition of a free act of 
the will of God, to deal with us according to this his 
abundant goodness, or we can have no interest therein. 
This I call the purpose of his grace, or the " good plea- 
sure that he hath purposed in himself," Eph. 1:9; or, as 
it is termed, ver. 5, 6, " the good pleasure of his will, that 
he hath purposed, to the praise of his gracious grace." 

This free and gracious pleasure of God, or purpose 
of his will to act according to his own abundant good- 
ness, is another thing that influences the forgiveness of 
which we treat. Pardon flows immediately from a sove- 
reign act of free grace. This free purpose of God's 
will and grace, for the pardoning of sinners, is indeed 
that which is principally intended, when we say, u There 
is forgiveness with him ;" that is, he is pleased to for- 
give ; and so to do is agreeable to his nature. Now, 
the mystery of this grace is deep, it is eternal, and there- 
fore incomprehensible. Few there are whose hearts are 
raised to a contemplation of it. Men rest and content 
themselves in a general notion of mercy, which will not 
be advantageous to their souls ; [reed they would be from 
punishment, but what is to be forgiven they inquire not. 
But these fountains of God's actings are revealed, that 
they may be the fountains of our comforts. 

II. Now, of this ruRPosK of God's grace, there are se- 
veral acts, all of them relating to gospel-forgiveness. 



§1> FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

1. There is his purpose of sending his Son to be the 
great means of procuring, of purchasing forgiveness. 
Though God be infinitely gracious, though he purpose 
to exert this grace and goodness towards sinners, yet he 
will do it in such a way as shall not be prejudicial to his 
own holiness and righteousness. His justice must be sat- 
isfied, and his holy indignation against sin made known ; 
wherefore he sent his Son, to make way for the exer- 
cise of mercy, so as no way to eclipse the glory of his 
justice, holiness, and hatred of sin. Better we should 
all eternally come short of forgiveness, than that God 
should lose any thing of his glory. This we have, Eom. 
3 : 25. " God set Him forth to be a propitiation through 
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the 
remission of sins that are past." The remission of sins 
is the thing aimed at; but this must be brought about, 
that not only the mercy, but the righteousness of God 
may be declared ; and therefore it must be brought forth 
by a propitiation, or atonement in the blood of Christ. 
So John, 3 : 16 ; 1 John, 4:9; Rom. 5 : 8. 

Men who have slight thoughts of God, whose hearts 
were never awed with his majesty or greatness, who 
never seriously considered his purity and holiness, may 
think it no great matter that God should pardon sin. 
But do they consider the way in which it was brought 
about 1 even by the sending of his only Son, and that to 
die. Neither was there any other way whereby it might 
be done. Oh how little is this really believed, even by 
those who make a profession of it ! and what mean 
thoughts are entertained about it, when men seek for 
pardon ! Freedom from punishment is the utmost that 
lies in the aims and desires of most, and is all that they 
consider when they deal with God about sin. Such men 
think we have an easy task in hand to prove that there 
is forgiveness in God ; but if ever they come to search 
after it indeed, to inquire into the nature, reasons, causes, 



NATURE OF FORGIVENESS. 95 

fountain, and springs of it, they will be able to give 
another account of these things. Christ is the centre 
of the mystery of the Gospel, and forgiveness is laid up 
in the heart of Christ, from the love of the Father 5 in 
him are all the treasures of it hid. And surely it is no 
small thing to have the heart of Christ revealed unto us. 
When believers look for pardon, their faith fastens on 
this, that God, with whom the soul hath to do, hath, for 
this end, sent the Lord Christ to die. General notions 
of impunity they dwell not on, they have a closer con- 
verse with God than to be satisfied with such thoughts. 
They inquire into the graciousness of his nature, and 
the good pleasure of his will, the purpose of his grace ; 
•they ponder, and look into the mystery of his wisdom 
and love in sending his Son. If these springs be not 
clear to them, the streams will yield but little refresh- 
ment. It is not enough that we seek after salvation, but 
we are to inquire and search diligently into the nature 
and manner of it. These are things that the " angels 
desire to bow down and look into." 1 Pet 1 : 11-13. 
And it is, doubtless, one reason why many, who truly 
believe, do yet so fluctuate about forgiveness all their 
days, that they never exercised faith to look into the 
springs of it, its eternal fountains, but have merely dwelt 
on actual pardon. 

2. There is another sovereign act of God's will to be 
here considered : his eternal designation of those V)ho 
shall be made 'partakers of this mercy. He hath not left 
this thing to hazard and uncertainties, that it should, as 
it were, be unknown to him who should be pardoned, 
and who not. Nay, none are made partakers of forgive- 
ness but those whom he hath eternally and graciously 
designed thereunto. So the apostle declares, Eph. 1 : 5-7. 
The rise is his eternal purpose , the end, the glory of 
his grace ; the means, redemption in the blood of 
Christ 3 the thing itself, forgiveness of sins. 



96 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

III. Forgiveness has respect, as already said, to the 

PROPITIATION MADE IN AND BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, the 

Son of God. Indeed here lies the knot and centre of 
gospel-forgiveness : it flows from the cross, and springs 
out of the grave of Christ. 

Thus Elihu describes it : " God is gracious to him, 
and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit, I 
have found a ransom." Job, 33 : 24. These words con- 
tain a summary of our whole subject. 1. God's gra- 
cious and merciful heart towards a sinner: u He is 
gracious unto him." 2. Actual forgiveness: "Deliver 
him from going down to the pit." And, 3. There is the 
centre of the whole, wherein God's gracious heart and 
actual pardon meet ; the ransom, the propitiation or 
atonement, in the blood of Christ, of which we now 
speak, "I have found a ransom." 

The same is expressed, " My righteous servant shall 
justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities." Isaiah, 
53 : 11. Of the justification of sinners, absolution, or par- 
don, is the first part. This arises from Christ's bearing 
their iniquities: therein he " finished the transgression, 
made an end of sin, and made reconciliation for iniqui- 
ty." Dan. 9 : 24. All the sacrifices, and consequcnth', 
the whole worship of the Old Testament, evinced this re- 
lation between forgiveness and blood-shedding ; whence 
the apostle concludes, that {t without shedding of blood 
there is no remission," Heb. 9 : 22 ; that is, all pardon 
arises from blood-shedding, even of the blood of the Son 
of God. So that we are said, in him, to have redemp- 
tion, even the forgiveness of sins. Eph. 1 : 7. Our re- 
demption in his blood, is our forgiveness. Not that we 
are all actually pardoned in the blood of his cross; for 
thereunto must be added gospel-forgiveness, but there- 
by it is procured, the grant of pardon is therein sealed,, 
and security given that it shall, in due time, be made 
to us. To which purpose is that discourse of the apos- 
tle, Rom. 3 : 24, 25, 26. The work there mentioned 



NATURE OF FORGIVENESS. 97 

proceeds from grace, is managed to the interest of righ- 
teousness, is carried on by the blood of Christ, and is- 
sues in forgiveness. Now the blood of Christ relates va- 
riously to the pardon of sin. 

1. Pardon is purchased and procured by it. Our re- 
demption is our forgiveness, as the cause contains the 
effect. No soul is pardoned but with respect to the 
blood of Christ, as the procuring cause of that pardon. 
Hence he is said to "have washed us in his blood," Rev. 
1 : 5 j "in himself to have purged our sins," Heb. 1:3? 
by " one offering to have taken away sin, and for ever 
to have perfected them that are sanctified," Heb. 10 : 14 ; 
to be the " ransom and propitiation " of our sins, 1 John, 
2:2; to have made " an end of sin," Dan. 9 : 24 ; and to 
have " made reconciliation for the sins of his people," 
Heb. 2: 17. God hath enclosed his rich stores of par- 
don and mercy in the blood of Jesus Christ. 

2. Because in his blood the promise of pardon is rati- 
fied and confirmed, so that nothing is wanting to our 
complete forgiveness but our pleading the promise by 
faith in him. " All the promises of God are in him yea, 
in him amen," 2 Cor. 1 : 20 ; that is, faithfully and im- 
mutably established. And therefore the apostle having 
told us that this is the covenant of God, that he "would 
be merciful to our sins and iniquities," Heb. 8 : 12, he 
informs us that, in the undertaking of Christ, this cove- 
nant is become a testament, chap. 9 : 15, 16, 17 ; so rati- 
fied in his blood, that mercy and forgiveness of sin is 
irrevocably confirmed to us therein. 

3. Because he hath in his own person, as the Head 
of the church, received an acquittal for the whole body. 
His personal discharge upon the accomplishment of his 
work, was a pledge of the discharge which was in due 
time to be given to his people. Those for whom, and in 
whose name, he suffered ; for them, and in their name, 
he received the acquittal. 

Forgiveness. & 



98 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

4. Because, upon his death, God the Father hath com- 
mitted to him the whole management of the business of 
forgiveness, " He gives repentance and forgiveness of 
sins." Acts, 5:31. It is Christ that forgives us. Col. 
3: 13. All forgiveness is now at his disposal, and he 
pardoneth whom he will ; even all that are given to him 
of the Father, not casting out any that come to God by 
him. He is intrusted with all the stores of his Father's 
purpose and his own purchase, and thence tells us that 
" all things that the Father hath are his." John, 16 : 15. 

In all these respects doth forgiveness relate to the 
blood of Christ. Mercy, pardon and grace could find 
no other way to issue forth from the heart of the Father 
but by the heart's blood of the Son, and so do they flow 
to the heart of the sinner. 

Two things are principally to be considered in the re- 
lations of forgiveness to the blood of Christ. 1. The 
way of its procurement ; 2. The way of its administra- 
tion by him. The first is deep, mysterious, dreadful. 
It was by his blood, the blood of the cross, the travail 
of his soul 5 his undergoing wrath and curse. The other 
is gracious, merciful and tender ; whence so many things 
are spoken of his mercifulness and faithfulness, to en- 
courage us to expect forgiveness from him. 

This also adds to the mysterious depths of forgive- 
ness, and makes its discovery a great matter. The soul 
that looks after it in earnest must consider what it cost. 
How light do most men make of pardon ! What an easy 
thing is it to be acquainted with it! And no very hard 
matter to obtain it! But to hold communion with God 
in the blood of his Son is a thing of another nature than 
is once dreamed of by many, who think they know well 
enough what it k to be pardoned. "God be merciful," 
is a common saying, and as common to desire he would 
be so " for Christ's sake." Poor creatures are cast into 
the mould of such expressions, who know neither God, 



NATURE OF FORGIVENESS. 99 

nor mercy, nor Christ, nor any thing of the mystery of 
the Gospel. Others look on the outside of the cross :— 
but to see into the mystery of the love of the Father, 
working in the Wood of the Mediator ; to consider, by 
faith, the great transaction of Divine wisdom, justice and 
mercy therein, how few attain to it ! To come to God, 
by Christ, for forgiveness, and therein to behold the law 
issuing all its threats and curses in his blood, and losing 
its sting, putting an end to its obligation to punishment; 
in the cross to see all sins gathered up in the hands of 
God's justice, and made to meet on the Mediator; and 
eternal love springing forth triumphantly from his blood, 
flourishing into pardon, grace, mercy, forgiveness — this 
the heart of a sinner can be enlarged to only by the 
Spirit of God. 

IV. There is, in forgiveness, free discharge or par- 
don, according to the tenor of the Gospel ; and this may 
be considered, 1, as it lies in the promise itself, or God's 
gracious declaration of pardon to sinners by the blood 
of Christ, which is variously proposed, according as he 
knew was needful, whether for their faith or consolation ; 
and, 2, as the application of all this mercy to the soul 
of a sinner by the Holy Ghost ; wherein we are " freely 
forgiven all our trespasses." Col. 2: 13. 

Gospel-forgiveness, I say, respects all these things — 
these principles have all an influence in it. And that 
which makes this more evident, wherewith I shall close 
this consideration of its nature, is, that faith, in its ap- 
plication to God for forgiveness, distinctly applies itself, 
sometimes to one of these, sometimes another, and some- 
times takes into consideration all of them expressly. Not 
that it ever rests on any one of them, exclusively of the 
others; but that eminently it finds some special encou- 
ragement at some season, and some peculiar attraction 



100 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

from some one of them, more than from the rest ; and 
then that proves an inlet, a door of entrance, to the trea- 
sures laid up in the rest. 

1. Sometimes faith fixes upon the name and infinite 
goodness of the nature of God, and draws out forgive- 
ness from thence. So doth the Psalmist, rr Thou, Lord, 
art good, and ready to forgive." Psalm 86 : 5. He rolls 
himself, in the pursuit and expectation of pardon, on the 
infinite goodness of the nature of God. So Neh. 9 : 17, 
"Thou art a God of pardons," or ready to forgive} of 
an infinite, gracious, loving nature ; not severe and 
wrathful. Thus we are encouraged " to stay on the 
name of God," Isa. 50 : 10, as in innumerable other places. 

Thus faith often finds a peculiar sweetness and encou- 
ragement in the consideration of God's gracious nature. 
Sometimes this is the first thing it fixes on, and some- 
times the last it rests in ; and often it makes a stay here 
when driven from all other holds. Faith can say, How- 
ever it be, yet God is gracious ; and at least make that 
conclusion which we have from it, rr God is gracious and 
merciful, who knoweth but he will return 1" Joel, 2:13, 
14. And when faith has well laid hold on this conside- 
ration it will not easily be driven from its expectation 
of relief and forgiveness, even from hence. 

2. Sometimes the soul, by faith, addresses itself in a 
peculiar manner to the sovereignty of God's will ; where- 
by he is gracious to whom he will be gracious, and mer- 
ciful to whom he will be merciful ; which, as was showed, 
is another considerable spring or principle of forgive- 
ness. This way David's faith directed him in his great 
strait and perplexity, " If I shall find favor in the eyes 
of the Lord, he will bring me again ; but if he thus say, 
I have no delight in thee, behold here am I, let him do 
■unto me as seemeth good unto him." 2 Sam. 15 : 25, 26. 
He had in consideration whether God had any delight 
in him ; that is, whether God would graciously remit 



NATURE OF FORGIVENESS. 101 

arid pardon the great sin against which, at that time, he 
manifested his indignation. Here he lays himself down 
before the sovereign grace of God, and waits patiently 
the discovery of the free act of his will concerning him ; 
and at this door, as it were, enters into the consideration 
of those other springs of pardon which faith inquires 
after and closes with. This, sometimes, is all the cloud, 
that appears to a distressed soul, which, after a while, 
fJls the heavens, by the addition of the other considera- 
tions mentioned, and yields plentifully refreshing show- 
ers. And to this condition is a sin-entangled soul oft- 
times reduced in looking for relief; it can discover no- 
thing but this, that God is able, and can, if he graciously 
please, relieve and acquit him. All other support or 
springs of relief are shut up or hid from him. The 
springs, indeed, may be nigh, as that was to Hagar ; 
but their eyes are withheld, that they cannot see them. 
Wherefore they cast themselves on God's sovereign 
pleasure, and say with Job, " Though he slay us, we will 
put our trust in him 5" we will not let him go. In our- 
selves we are lost, that is unquestionable \ how the Lord 
will deal with us we know not 5 evidences of God's grace 
in us, or of his love and favor to us, are all out of sight 5 
to a present special interest in Christ we are strangers, 
and we lie every moment at the door of eternity. What 
course shall we take \ what way shall Ave proceed 1 If 
we abide at a distance from God we shall assuredly pe- 
rish : who ever hardened himself against him and pros- 
pered'? Nor is there the least relief to be had but from 
him 1 for who can forgive sins but Godl We will then 
bring our guilty souls into his presence, and attend the 
pleasure of his grace ; what he speaks concerning us we 
will willingly submit to. And this sometimes proves an 
anchor to a tossed soul 5 which, if it do not give rest 
and peace, yet saves it from the rock of despair. Here 
it abides until light more and more breaks forth upon it. 



102 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

3. Faith commonly eyes forgiveness in a peculiar man- 
ner, in its relation to the mediation and blood of Christ. 
So the apostle directs, 1 John, 2:2, " If any man sin, 
we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the 
righteous \ and he is the propitiation for our sins." If 
any one hath sinned, and is in depths and entanglements 
about it, what course shall he take % how shall he pro- 
ceed to obtain deliverance? why, he must apply to God 
for pardon. But what shall he rely upon to encourage 
him in so doing] Saith the apostle, Consider, by faith, 
the atonement and propitiation made for sin by the blood 
of Christ ; and that he is still pursuing the work of love 
to the suing out of pardon for us, and rest thy soul there- 
on. It is this, I say, on which faith most commonly rests. 

4. Faith eyes actual pardon. So God proposes it as a 
motive to further believing : " I have blotted out, as a 
thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins; 
return unto me, for I have redeemed thee." Isa. 44 : 22. 
Actual pardon of sin is proposed to faith, as an encou- 
ragement to a full returning to God in all things. 2 Sam. 
23 : 5. And the same may be said of all the other par- 
ticulars which we have insisted on. There is not one of 
them but will yield peculiar relief to a soul inquiring 
after forgiveness. 

Let us now take along with us the end for which all 
these considerations have been insisted on. It is to ma- 
nifest that a real discovery of gospel-forgiveness is a 
matter of greater consequence and importance than at 
first it perhaps appeared. Who is not in hope, in expec- 
tation of pardon] who thinks not that he knows well 
enough at least what it is, if he might but obtain it 1 
But men may have general thoughts of impunity, and 
yet be far enough from any saving acquaintance with 
gospel mercy. 

I shall only add, that this discovery of forgiveness 



FORGIVENESS EEVEALED TO FAITH. K3 

is made to faith alone. The nature of it is such, that 
nothing else can discover it or receive it. No reason- 
ings, no inquiries of the heart of man can reach it. 
That guess or glimpse which the heathens had of old, 
and false worshippers have at present, is not the forgive- 
ness we insist upon, but a mere imagination of their own 
hearts. 

This the apostle informs us, Rom. 1 : 17; the "righ- 
teousness of God is," in the Gospel, fT revealed from faith 
to faith." Nothing but faith hath any thing to do with 
it. It is that " righteousness of God " whereof he speaks, 
that consists in the forgiveness of sins by the blood of 
Christ. And this is revealed from the faith of God in 
the promise, to the faith of the believer ; to him that 
mixes the promise with faith. And again, more fully, 
" Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
the heart of man the things which God hath prepared 
for them that love him." 1 Cor. 2 : 9. We may come to 
the knowledge of things by the seeing of the eye, or 
the hearing of the ear, or the reasonings and medita- 
tions of the heart : but none of these will reach the 
matter in hand; by none of these ways can we come to 
an acquaintance with the things of the Gospel that are 
prepared for us in Christ. How then shall we obtain the 
knowledge of them ] " God hath revealed them unto us 
by his Spirit." Now it is faith only that receives the re- 
velations of the Spirit ; nothing else hath to do with 
them. We remark then, 

1. That this mystery is too deep to be fathomed by any 
thing but faith. Reason's line is too short to reach the 
depths of the Father's love, of the blood of the Son, 
and the promises of the Gospel built thereon, in which 
forgiveness dwells. Men cannot, by their reason merely, 
launch out into these deeps, or draw water from these 
wells of salvation. 

Season stands by amazed, and cries, How can these 



104? FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

things be 1 It can but gather cockle-shells, like hirn of 
old, at the shore of this ocean ] offer a few criticisms 
upon the outward letter ; and so bring an evil report 
upon the land, as did the spies. All it can do is but to 
hinder faith from venturing into it ; crying, Spare thy- 
self, this attempt is vain, these things are impossible. 
This blinded reason faith puts aside when it engages 
the soul in this great work. And the soul, that it may 
come to a discovery of forgiveness, denies itself, and all 
its own reasonings, and gives up itself to the infinite 
fulness of goodness and truth. Though faith cannot go 
to the bottom of these depths, yet it enters them, and 
finds rest in them. Nothing but faith is suited to rest, 
to satiate and content itself in bottomless, unsearchable 
depths. This is what I looked for, saith faith, even for 
that which is infinite and unsearchable ; for I know that 
there is abundantly more beyond me that I do not com- 
prehend, than what I have attained to ; I know that no- 
thing else will do good to the soul. This puzzles and 
overwhelms reason ; and what it cannot compass it will 
neglect or despise. It is either amazed and confounded, 
and dazzled, like weak eyes at too great a light ; or, for- 
tifying itself by inbred pride and obstinacy, it concludes 
that this preaching of the cross, of forgiveness from the 
love of God by the blood of Christ is folly, a thing not 
for a wise man to take notice of or to trouble himself 
about. So it appeared to the wise Greeks of old, 1 Cor. 
1 : 23. Hence, when a soul is brought under the power 
of a real conviction of sin, so that he would anxiously 
be freed from its chains, it is then the hardest thing in 
the world to persuade such a soul of this forgiveness. 
Any thing appears more rational to it ; any self-righ- 
teousness in this world, any purgatory hereafter. 

Many have forsaken forgiveness on this account \ 
masses, penances, merits, have appeared more eligible ; 
yea, men who have no other desire but to be forgiven, 



FORGIVENESS REVEALED TO FAITH. 105 

choose to rest in any thing rather than forgiveness. If 
men escape these rocks, and resolve that nothing but 
pardon will relieve them, yet it is impossible for them 
to receive it in the truth and power of it, if not enabled 
by faith. I speak not of men who take it up by hearsay, 
as a common report, but of those who know it is their 
only hope, and that they must perish everlastingly with- 
out it j and yet, when it is declared to them in the words 
of truth and soberness, they cannot receive it. What is 
the reason 1 Why, they have nothing to lead them into 
the mysterious depths of the eternal love of Christ, and 
the promises of the Gospel. How do we see poor dis- 
eased souls standing every day at the side of this pool, 
and yet not venturing themselves into it all their days. 

2. It is too great for any thing but faith to discover. 
Forgiveness is a thing chosen out of God from all eter- 
nity, to exalt and magnify the glory of his grace, and it 
will be made appear to all the world, at the day of judg- 
ment, to have been a great thing. When the soul comes 
in any measure to be made sensible of it, it finds it so 
great, so excellent and astonishing, that it sinks under 
the thoughts of it* It hath a length, breadth, depth, and 
height that no line of the rational soul can measure. 
There is exceeding greatness in it, Eph. 1 : 19, even 
" to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge." 
chap. 3:19. Here, I suppose, reason will confess it- 
self at a stand ; to know what passeth knowledge is- 
none of its work. 

3. But this is faith's proper work; even to know that 
which passeth knowledge. To know that, in its power 
and efficacy, w T hich cannot be fully known in its nature; 
to have, by believing, all the ends of a full comprehen- 
sion of that which cannot be fully comprehended. Hence, 
Heb. 11 : 1, it is said to be the evidence " of things not 
seen," though in themselves absent, yet faith gives them 
a present subsistence in the soul. So it knows things 

5* 



106 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

that pass knowledge ; by mixing itself with them, it 
draws out and communicates their benefit to the soul. 



CHAPTER VI. 



SUPPORT FROM FORGIVENESS. 

The discovery of forgiveness in God is a great sup- 
port for A sin-entangled soul, although it hath no spe- 
cial persuasion of its own particular interest therein. 
Somewhat is supposed m this assertion, and somewhat 
affirmed. 

1. It is supfosed, that one may have a gracious per- 
suasion and assurance of faith concerning his own par- 
ticular interest in forgiveness. A man may, many do, 
believe it for themselves ; so as not only to have the 
benefit of it, but the comfort also. Generally all the 
saints mentioned in Scripture had this assurance, unless 
in the case of depths and desertions, as described in 
this psalm. David expresses his confidence of the love 
and favor of God to his own soul hundreds of times; 
Paul does the same for himself, " Christ loved me, and 
gave himself for me." Gal. 2 : 20. " There is laid up 
for me a crown of righteousness, which God, the righ- 
teous Judge, shall give me at that day." 2 Tim. 4 : 8. 
And that this boasting in the Lord and his grace was 
not peculiar to himself, he shows, Rom. 8 : 38, 39. 

Nothing can be more vain than what is usually plead 
to remove this sheet-anchor of the saint's consolation; 
namely, that no man's particular name is in the pro- 
mise; that it is not said to this or that man by name, 



ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS. 107 

that Lis sins are forgiven. To think it necessary that 
the names whereby we are known among ourselves 
should be written in the promise, in order that we may 
believe in particular every one for himself, is a vain con- 
ceit. True, the new name of every child of God is true in 
the promise ; and believing makes it very legible to him. 
Yea, we find by experience that there is no need of ar- 
gumentation in this case. The soul, by a direct act of 
faith, believes its own forgiveness. But I will not dwell 
here, and proceed to remark, that, 

1. It is the duty of every believer to seek assurance 
of personal forgiveness. The apostle exhorts us all to 
it, " Let us draw near, in full assurance of faith," Heb. 
10 : 22 5 that is, of our acceptance with God, through 
forgiveness in the blood of Jesus. And this principle 
of our faith and confidence he would have us hold fast 
unto the end, chap. 3 : 14. It is no small evil in be- 
lievers not to be pressing after perfection in. believing 
and obedience 5 and some sinful indulgence to self, or 
the world, or sloth, is often the cause of it. Hence few 
come up to gospel-assurance. But yet most of our pri- 
vileges and our comfort depend on this. To encourage 
to this duty, consider whence this assurance is produced, 
and what fruit it bears. 

It is in general the product of special communications 
of the Spirit. It flourishes not without his sealing, wit- 
nessing, establishing, and shedding abroad the love of 
God in our hearts* See Rom. 5 : 2-5. And what be- 
liever ought not to long for, and press after the enjoy- 
ment of these things I Nay, to read of these things in 
the Gospel, not experiencing them in our own hearts, 
and yet to sit down quietly without continual pressing 
after them, is to despise the blood of Christ, the Spirit 
of grace, and the whole work of God's love. If there 
are no such things, the Gospel is not true ; if there are, 
and we press not after them, we are despisers of tha 



108 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

Gospel. Surely he hath not the Spirit, who would not 
have more of him, all of him that is promised by Christ. 
These things are the " hundred-fold " that Christ hath 
left us in the world, to counterpoise our sorrows and 
losses; and shall we be so foolish as to neglect our only 
abiding riches and treasures'? In particular, it is the 
product of a vigorous, active faith ; and that our faith 
should be such always, in every condition, I suppose it 
our duty to endeavor. Not only our comfort but our 
obedience also depends upon it. The more true faith, 
the more obedience. For all our obedience is the obe- 
dience of faith. The fruits of this assurance are the 
choicest actings of our souls towards God 5 as love, de- 
light, rejoicing in the Lord, peace, joy, and readiness 
to do, or suffer. 

In the ordinary dispensations of God towards us, it is 
also usually by our own negligence that we come short 
of this assurance. True, it depends in a peculiar man- 
ner on the sovereignty of God; he is as absolute in giv- 
ing peace to believers, as in giving grace to sinners. 
He creates light, and causes darkness, as he pleases. 
But yet, considering what promises are made to us, 
what encouragements are given us, what love and ten- 
derness there is in God to receive us, I cannot but con- 
clude, that ordinarily our own neglect is the cause of our 
coming short of this assurance. 

2. It is further supposed in our proposition, that there 
is, or may be, a saving persuasion or discovery of for- 
giveness in God, where there is no assurance that our sins 
in particular are pardoned. ' { Who is among you that 
feareth the Lord, and obeyeth the voice of his servant, 
that walketh in darkness, and hath no light 1 let him 
trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." 
Isaiah, 50 : 10. Here is the fear of the Lord arid obedience, 
with a blessed encouragement to rest in God, yet no 
assurance, nor light, but darkness, and that walked in, or 



ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS. 109 

continued in, for a long season. For he cannot walk in 
darkness, without any ray of light, as the words signify, 
who is persuaded of the love of God in the pardon of his 
sins. And yet the faith of such an one, and his obe- 
dience springing from it, have this gracious promise of 
acceptance with God. And innumerable testimonies to 
this purpose might be produced. I shall only confirm 
it, in one observation concerning the nature of faith, 
and one more, about the proposal of the thing to be be- 
lieved, or forgiveness. 

Faith is called a " cleaving unto the LordP Deut. 4 : 4. 
It is also expressed by trusting in the Lord, rolling our 
burden or casting our care upon him, by commit- 
ting ourselves or our ways to him. Now, all this goes 
no further than the soul's resignation of itself to God, 
to be dealt with by him according to the tenor of the 
covenant of grace, ratified in the blood of Christ. This 
a soul cannot do without a discovery of forgiveness in 
God ; but this a soul may do without a special assur- 
ance of his own interest therein. This faith will lead 
men to conclude that it is their duty and their wis- 
dom to give up the disposal of their souls to God, 
and to cleave to him as revealed in Christ, waiting the 
pleasure of his will. It enables them to make Christ 
their choice \ and will carry men to heaven safely, though 
it may be, at some seasons, not very comfortably. 

The revelation of forgiveness, made in the Gospel, 
evidences the same truth. The first proposal of it, or 
concerning it, is not to any man, that his sins are for- 
given. No; but it is only that there is redemption and 
forgiveness of sins in Christ. So the apostle Acts, 
13 : 38, 39. " Be it known to you, therefore, men and 
brethren, that through this man is preached unto you 
the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are 
justified from all things, from which they could not be 
justified by the law of Moses." All this may be be- 



110 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

Keved, without a man's assurance of his own personal 
interest in the things mentioned. Now, w r here they 
are believed with the faith the Gospel requires, that 
faith is saving, and the root of gospel, acceptable 
obedience. The ransom, the atonement by Christ, the 
fulness of the redemption in him, and so forgiveness in 
his blood for believers, from the good-will, grace, and 
love of the Father, is the first gospel-discovery in 
which a sinner, in a saving manner, rests. Particular 
assurance arises, or may arise, afterwards ; and this 
also is supposed in the assertion. 

The point affirmed is, that a discovery of forgive- 
ness in God, without any particular assurance of per- 
sonal interest therein, is a great support to a sin en- 
tangled scuL And let no man despise the day of this 
small thing, small in the eyes of some, and those good 
men also, as if it did not deserve the name of faith. 

This discovery of forgiveness is the soul's persua- 
sion, on gospel-grounds, that however it be with him, 
and whatever be his condition, God in his own nature 
is infinitely gracious, and that he hath determined, in a 
sovereign act of his will, from eternity, to he gracious to 
sinners / and that he hath made way for the adminis- 
tration of forgiveness by the blood of his Sen, accord- 
ing as he hath abundantly declared in the promises of 
the GospeL However it be with me, yet thus it is with 
God 5 there is forgiveness w 7 ith him. This is the first 
thing that a soul in its depths rises to. And it is a sup- 
port for it ; enabling it to perform all present duties, 
until consolation come from above. 

We may observe how far this relief extends, and to 
what it enables the soul. As, 

1. The soul is enabled thereby to resig?i itself to ike 
disposal of sovereign grace, in self-abhorrence and a re- 
nunciation of all other ways of relief, " He putteth his 



SUPPORT FROM FORGIVENESS. Ill 

mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope." Lam, 
3 : 29. What God will, is his language. Here he lies at 
his disposal, humble, broken, but abiding his pleasure. 
rr Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." Job, 
13 : 15. " However he deals with me ; whatever be the 
event, I will abide, cleaving unto him. I will not think 
of any other way of extricating myself from my dis- 
tress. I will neither fiy, like Jonah, nor hide, like 
Adam, nor take any other course for deliverance." 
Saith the soul, God is a God that hideth himself from 
me. Isaiah, 45: 15. "I walk in darkness, and have no 
light," chap. 1: 10. "My flesh faileth, and my heart 
faileth," Psalm 73 : 26 ; so that I am overwhelmed with 
trouble : " Mine iniquities have taken such hold on me 
that I cannot look up." Psalm 40 : 12. " The Lord hath 
forsaken me, and my God hath forgotten me." Isa. 
49 : 14. Every day am I in dread and terror, and am 
ready to faint, and no relief can I obtain. What then 
shall I do] Shall I curse God, and die X Shall I take 
the course of the world, and, judging it will be no bet- 
ter, be wholly regardless of my latter end % No, I know, 
whatever my lot and portion be, that there is forgive- 
ness with God. This and that poor man trusted in 
him, they cried unto him, and were delivered. David, 
in his greatest distress, K ' encouraged his heart in the 
Lord his God." 2 Sam. 15 : 25, 26. It is good for me 
to cast myself into his arms ; it may be he will frown ; 
it may be he is wroth still ; but to him I will go ; as it 
seems good to him to deal with me, so let it be. And 
unspeakable are the advantages which a soul obtains 
by this self-resignation, which the faith treated of will 
infallibly produce. 

2. It extends itself to a resolution of waiting on God. 
This the church comes to : " It is good that a man 
should both hope, and quietly wait, for the salvation of 
the Lord." Lam. 3 : 26. I will not give over my expec- 



112 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

tation, I will not make haste, nor limit God ; but I will 
lie at his feet until his own appointed time of mercy 
shall come. Expectation and quietness make up wait- 
ing. These the soul attains to, with this support ; it 
looks upwards, as a servant that looks to the hands of 
his master, still fixed on God, to see what he will do, 
to hear what he will speak concerning him ) missing 
no season, no opportunity, wherein any discovery of 
the will of God may be made to him. And this he 
does in quietness, without repining or murmuring, 
turning all his complaints against himself and his own 
vileness, that hath cut him short from a participation 
of the fulness of love and grace in God. That this ef- 
fect also attends this faith, will fully appear in the close 
of the psalm. 

3. It supports our waiting in the use of all means for 
the attainment of a sense of forgiveness, and so hath 
its effects in the whole course of our obedience: { There 
is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." 
To fear the Lord is an expression comprehensive of 
his whole worship, and all our duty. To this I am en- 
couraged, saith the Psalmist, in my depths, because 
there is forgiveness with thee. I will abide in all du- 
ties, in all the ways of thy worship, wherein thou may- 
est be found. And however it be for a while, the latter 
end of that soul, who thus abideth with God, will be 
peace. 

Let us then, next, see by what means the discovery 
of forgiveness yields this support. 

1. It begets confidence in God; and consequently 
some love to him. The soul apprehends God as one 
infinitely to be desired, and delighted in. It cannot but 
consider him as good and gracious, however doubtful 
as to its own state. " God is good to Israel, to such as 
are of a clean heart ] as for me, my feet were almost 



SUPPORT FROM FORGIVENESS^ 113 

gone, my steps had well nigh slipped." Psalm 73 : 1, 2. 
However my state is, yet I know that God is good — 
good to Israel ; and therewith will I support myself. 
When once the soul has reached this ground, that it 
considers God in Christ as one to be delighted in and 
loved, great and blessed effects will ensue. 1. Self- 
abhorrence and condemnation, with resignation of all 
to God, and permanency therein, certainly attend it. 
2. Still something in God will be brought to mind, to 
relieve it under faintings; some new springs of hope 
will be every day opened. 3. And the soul will be 
insensibly wrought upon to delight itself in God. 
Though, in its own particular case, it meets with 
frownings, chidings, and repulses, yet this still relieves 
him, that God is as has been declared ; so that he says, 
However it be, yet God is good \ and it is good for me 
to wait upon him. Without this discovery, the soul is 
not drawn to God \ and whatever it does with respect 
to him, it is because it dares do no otherwise, being 
overawed with his terror and greatness. Such obe- 
dience God may have from devils. 

2. It removes sundry overwhelming difficulties that lie 
in the soul's way, before it close with this discovery of 
forgiveness. 

It takes away all the hinderances that have been men- 
tioned, from the greatness, holiness, and severity of God, 
the strictness of the law, and the natural actings of con- 
science, rising up against all hopes of forgiveness. All 
these are by this faith removed. Where this faith is, it 
discovers the true nature of gospel-forgiveness. It re- 
veals it as flowing from the gracious heart of the Father, 
through the blood of the Son. This propitiation in the 
blood of the Son removes all these difficulties, even an- 
tecedently to our special sense of an interest therein. It 
shows how God may be exalted, and the law fulfilled, and 
yet forgiveness be extended to sinners. All those dreadful 



114 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

apprehensions of God, which were wont to arise in the 
first thoughts of coming to him, are now removed. 

In particular, it removes the overwhelming considera- 
tion of the unspeakable greatness of sin as exceeding the 
mercy of God. This presses the soul to death when it is 
possessed with it. Were not their sins so great, such as 
no heart can imagine or tongue declare, it might pos- 
sibly be well with them, say distressed sinners. They 
are not so troubled that they are sinners, as that they 
are great sinners: not so much that they are guilty of 
these and those sins, as that they are great sins, attend- 
ed with fearful aggravations. Now, though this discov- 
ery free not men from the entanglement of their sins, 
as theirs, yet it does from the whole entanglement of 
their sins, as great and many. That great sins can be 
pardoned, this discovery makes certain: whether his 
own sins shall be pardoned, is now the only inquiry. 
Whatever any faith can do, this faith will do: unless it 
be the making of particular application of the things 
believed unto itself. The soul then can no longer just- 
ly be troubled about the greatness of sin; the infinite- 
Bess of forgiveness that he sees in God will relieve him 
against it. 

3. It gives some life and encouragement in duty. And 
that, first, in duty as duty ; eyeing God by faith in such 
a fulness of grace, the soul cannot but be encouraged 
to meet him in every way of duty ; every way leading 
to him, as leading to him, must be well liked and ap- 
proved ; and, secondly, in all duties: and herein lies no 
small advantage. God is often found in duties, but he 
has not revealed in what he will be found fcy any one 
soul in particular. This faith encourages the soul to all. 
Now, what support may be hence obtained, is easily ap- 
prehended ; support, not from them, or by them, but 
in them, as the means of intercourse between God and 
the soul. 



SUPPORT FROM FORGIVENESS. 



115 



From these effects of this discovery of forgiveness in 
God, three things will ensue, which are sufficient to 
maintain the spiritual life of the soul. 

1. A resolution to abide with God, and to commit all 
to him. This the word, as was observed, teaches us : 
"There is forgiveness with thee," and therefore thou 
shalt be feared. Because this I found, this I am per- 
suaded of, therefore will I abide with him in the way 
of his fear and worship. To this our Savior calls, John, 
15 : 4. "Abide in me 5 except you do so ye can bear 
no fruit." 

Many discouragements may rise up in the soul: fears, 
especially, will assault it, that it shall not hold out, that 
it shall be rejected at last, that all is naught and hypo- 
critical with it, that it shall not be forgiven, that God 
indeed regards it not, and therefore it may well enough 
give over its hopes, which seem often as the giving up 
of the ghost. Again, oppositions arise from corruptions 
and temptations to sin, contrary to the life of faith : 
and these often proceed to a high degree of prevalency, 
so that the guilt contracted may seem to cast the soul 
quite out of all expectation of mercy : I shall one day 
perish by these means, saith the soul, if I am not al- 
ready lost. 

But where faith has made this discovery of forgive- 
ness, the soul will abide with God against all these dis- 
couragements and oppositions ; it will not leave him, it 
will not give over waiting for him. So David says, Psalm 
73 : 2, "But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my 
steps had well nigh slipped 5" and ver. 13, "Verily I have 
cleansed my heart in vain;" but yet, after all his con- 
flicts, he comes to this at last, ver. 26, " Though my 
flesh and my heart faileth," yet, ver. 28, " it is good 
for me to draw near unto God ;" I will yet abide with 
God, I will not let go his fear, nor my profession : al- 
though I walk weakly, lamely, unevenly, yet I will still 



116 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

follow after him. So when many, upon a strong temp- 
tation, went back from Christ, and walked no more with 
him, and u Jesus said to his disciples, Will ye also go 
away ?" Peter replied in the name of the rest, " Lord, 
to whom shall we go] thou hast the words of eternal 
life." John, 6 : 66-68. It is thus and thus with me, saith 
the soul ; I am tossed and afflicted, and not comforted ; 
little life, little strength, real guilt, many sins, and much 
distress. What then saith God by his word, " Wilt 
thou go away also V No, saith the soul, there is " for- 
giveness with thee, thou hast the words of eternal life," 
and therefore I will abide with thee. 

This abiding with God also argues the rejection of 
any other choice. Whilst the soul is in this condition, 
having not attained evidences of its own special interest 
in forgiveness, many temptations will assail it. Both 
self-righteousness and sin will be very importunate in 
this matter ] the former tenders itself as exceedingly 
useful, to give the soul some assistance and support in 
its condition. Sometimes it presents itself in the as* 
pect of a duty ; but its end is to get somewhat of the 
faith and trust of the soul to be fixed upon it. But 
when the soul has indeed a discovery of forgiveness, it 
will give no ear to these solicitations. No, saith the 
soul, I see such a beauty, such an excellency, such a 
desirableness and suitableness to my wants and con- 
dition, in the forgiveness which is with God, that I am 
resolved to abide in the gospel-desire and expectation 
of it all the days of my life ; here my choice is fixed, 
and I will not alter. And this resolution gives glory to 
the grace of God. When the soul, without an evidence 
of an interest in it, yet prefers it above that which, 
with many reasonings and pretences, offers a present 
relief to it, hereby is God glorified, and Christ exalted, 
and the spiritual life of the soul secured. 

2 This discovery of forgiveness in God, with the 



SUPPORT FH03I FORGIVENESS. 



117 



effects of it before mentioned, will produce a resolution 
of waiting on God for peace and consolation, in his own 
time and way: "He that believeth shall not make 
haste," Isaiah, 28 : 16, — not make haste, to what 1 not 
even to the vivid enjoyment of the thing believed. 
Haste argues precipitation and impatience ; this the soul 
that has this discovery is freed from. God, speaking 
of his accomplishment of his promises, says, ft I the 
Lord will hasten it," — but he will do it u in its time." 
All oppositions and impediments considered, it shall be 
hastened, but in its time, its due time, its appointed 
time. And this the soul is to wait for ; and so it wilL 

As when Jacob had seen the beauty of Eachel, and 
loved her, he was contented to wait seven years for the 
enjoyment of her to be his wife, and thought no time 
long, no toil too hard, that he might obtain her ; so the 
soul having discovered the beauty and excellency of 
forgiveness, as it is with God, as it is in his gracious 
heart, in his eternal purpose, in the blood of Christ, in 
the promise of the Gospel, is resolved to wait quietly 
and patiently for the time wherein God will clear up to 
it, its own personal interest therein. Even one experi- 
mental embrace of it, though at the hour of death, well 
deserves the waiting and obedience of the whole course 
of a man's life. 

And this the Psalmist manifests to have been the ef- 
fect produced in his heart and spirit ; for, upon this 
discovery of forgiveness in God, he resolves both to 
wait upon Him himself, and encourages others so to do. 

3. This prepares the soul for receiving consolation 
and deliverance out of its pressures, by an evidence of a 
special interest in forgiveness. 

It makes men watch for this manifestation ; it makes 
the soul like the merchant who hath great riches, all his 
wealth in a far country, which he wishes to bring home. 
If they come, he is well provided for \ if they miscarry. 



118 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

he is lost and undone. This makes him hearken after 
tidings that they are safe though on a foreign shore ; 
and as Solomon says, " good news," in this case, u from 
a far country, is as cold water to a thirsty soul," (Prov. 
25 : 25,) full of refreshment. Though he cannot yet 
look upon them as his own absolutely, because he has 
them not in possession, he is glad they are safe. So it 
is with the soul ,• those riches which it so values, are, 
as to its apprehensions, in a far country. He is glad to 
hear news that they are safe ; to hear forgiveness 
preached, and the promises insisted on, though he can- 
not as yet look upon them as his own. 

The merchant rests not here, but he hearkens with 
much solicitude after the things that should bring home 
his riches, especially if they have in them his f? all." 
He considers the wind and weather, all the occasions, 
and inconveniences, and danger of the way; and blame 
him not, his "all" is at stake. The soul in like manner 
hearkens after all the means whereby this forgiveness 
may be brought home to it ; is afraid of sin and of 
temptation, glad to find a fresh gale of the Spirit of 
grace, hoping that it may bring in his return from the 
land of promise. This prepares the heart for a spiritual 
sense of it, when it is revealed. 

It also prepares the soul, by bringing it to a due esti- 
mate of the grace and mercy desired. The merchant- 
man in the Gospel was not prepared to enjoy the pearl 
himself, until it was discovered to him to be of great 
price ; then he knew how to purchase it, procure it, 
and keep it. The soul having, by this acting of faith 
upon the discovery of forgiveness, come to find that 
the pearl hid in the field is indeed precious, is both 
stirred up to seek after possession of it, and to give it 
its due. Such a soul saith, rt How excellent, how pre- 
cious, is this forgiveness with God! Blessed, yea, ever 
blessed are they who are made partakers of it ! What 



SUPPORT FROM FORGIVENESS. 119 

a life of joy, rest, peace and consolation do they lead ! 
Had I but the evidence of an interest in it, and the 
spiritual consolation that ensues, how would I despise 
the world and all the temptations of Satan, and rejoice 
in the Lord in every condition !" And this apprehen- 
sion of grace also exceedingly fits the soul for receiving 
a blessed sense of it, that God may have glory thereby. 

It also gives the soul a right under standing of forgive- 
ness, its nature, its causes, and effects. At first, the soul 
goes no further but to look after impunity, or freedom of 
punishment. " What shall I do to be saved " from hell 1 is 
the utmost it aims at \ who shall deliver me 1 how shall I 
escape \ And it would be contented to escape any way, 
by the law or the Gospel, if it may but escape. But upon 
this discovery of forgiveness a man plainly sees its na- 
ture, and that it is to be desired for its own sake. In- 
deed, when a soul is in trouble for sin, it knows not 
well what it would have. It has an uneasiness that it 
would be freed from ; a dread of some evil condition 
that it would avoid. But now the soul can tell what it 
desires, what it aims at, as well as what it would be 
freed from. It would have an interest in eternal love, 
have the gracious kindness of the heart of God turned 
towards itself, and a manifestation of a special interest 
in the precious blood of the Son of God, whereby atone- 
ment is made for him. These things he comes for; in 
this way alone he would be saved, and no other. He sees 
such a glory of wisdom, love and grace, in forgiveness, 
such an exaltation of the love of Christ, in all his offices, 
especially in his death, sacrifice, and blood-shedding, 
whereby he procured or made reconciliation for us, that 
he exceedingly longs after the participation of them. 

All these things, in their several degrees, will this 
discovery of forgiveness in God, without special evi- 
dence of a personal interest therein, produce. And these 
will assuredly maintain the spiritual life of the soul, and 



120 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

keep it up to such an obedience as shall be accepted of 
God in Christ. Darkness, sorrow, storms, they in whom 
it is may meet with ; but their eternal condition is se- 
cured in the covenant of God ; their souls are bound in 
the bundle of life. 

From what has been said, we may draw some infer- 
ences concerning the true notion of believing. And, 

1. The effects ascribed to this faith of forgiveness in 
God, make it evident that many who pretend to believe 
that there is forgiveness with God, do indeed believe 
no such thing. I only ask what effects this faith has 
produced in them, and whether they have been enabled 
to perform the duties before mentioned] I fear, with 
many, the fruits of their pretended faith are quite other- 
wise. They love sin the more for it, and God never the 
better ; supposing that a few barren words will issue 
the controversy about their sins, they come insensibly 
to have slight thoughts of sin, and of God also. This 
persuasion is not of Him that calls us. Poor souls! your 
faith is the devil's greatest engine for your ruin; the 
highest contempt of God and Christ, and forgiveness 
also, that you can be guilty of; a means to let you down 
quietly into hell: the Pharisees trusted in Moses, and 
will condemn you. As none is saved but by faith, so 
you, if it were not for your faith, as you call it, might 
possibly be saved. If a man's gold prove counterfeit, 
his jewels painted glass, his silver lead or dross, he will 
not only be found poor when he comes to be tried, and 
want the benefit of riches, but will also have a fearful 
aggravation of his poverty, by his disappointment and 
surprisal. If a man's faith, which should be more pre- 
cious than gold, be found corrupt, if his light be dark- 
ness ; how vile is that faith, how great is that darkness ! 
Such, it is evident, will the faith of too many be found. 

2. The object before us is the raising of a sin-entan- 



SUPPORT FROM FORGIVENESS. 121 

gled soul out of its depths ; and this discovery of for- 
giveness must give him his first relief. Commonly, when 
souls are in distress, what they look after is consolation. 
What is it then which they intend thereby] that they 
may have assurance that their sins are forgiven, and so 
be freed from their present perplexities. What is the 
issue] Some of them continue complaining all their 
days, and never come to rest or peace ] so far do they 
fall short of consolation and joy. And some are utterly 
discouraged from attempting any progress in the ways 
of God. What is the reason % Is it not that they would 
fain be finishing their building, when they have not laid 
the foundation 1 They have not yet made thorough work 
in believing forgiveness with God, and they would im- 
mediately have assurance in themselves. Now, God de- 
lights not in such a frame of spirit. For, 

This haste for assurance is selfish. The great design 
of faith is to " give glory to God." Rom. 4 : 20. The 
end of God's forgiveness is the praise of his t? glorious 
grace." Eph. 1 : 6. But let a soul in this frame have 
peace in itself, it is very little solicitous about giving 
glory to God. He cries, like Rachel, t? Give me chil- 
dren, or I die ;" give me peace, or I perish. That God 
may be honored, and the forgiveness he seeks be ren- 
dered glorious, is cared for but in the second place, if 
at all. This selfish earnestness, at once to be thrustinn* 
our hand in the side of Christ, is what he will pardon in 
many, but accepts in none. 

It is impatient. Men act thus, because they do not 
like standing afar off, for any season, with the publican. 
They love not to submit their souls to lie at the foot of 
God, to give him the glory of his goodness, mercy, wis- 
dom, and love, in the disposal of them and their con- 
cerns. This waiting comprises the universal subjection 
of the soul to God, with a resolved judgment, that it 
is meet and right that we, and all we desire and aim at, 

Forgiveness. O 



122 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

should be at his sovereign disposal. This gives glory to 
God 5 a duty which the impatience of these poor souls 
will not allow them to perform. 

It is weak: it is weakness, in any condition, that makes 
men restless and weary. The state of adherence is as 
safe a condition as the state of assurance ; only it hath 
more combats and wrestling attending it. It is not, then, 
fear of the event, but weakness and weariness of the 
combat, that makes men anxiously solicitous about an 
immediate deliverance. 

Let, then, the sin-entangled soul remember always 
this order of the Gospel that we have under considera- 
tion. First, exercise faith on forgiveness in God; and, 
when the soul is fixed therein, it will have a ground and 
foundation on which it may stand securely in applying 
it to itself. Drive this principle, in the first place, to a 
stable issue, upon gospel-evidences; answer the objec- 
tions that lie against it, and then you may proceed. In 
believing, the soul makes a conquest upon Satan's ter- 
ritories. Do, then, as they do who are entering on an 
enemy's country, secure the passage, fortify the strong 
holds as you go on, that you be not cut off in your pro- 
gress. Be not as a ship at sea, which passes on, and is 
no more possessed of the water it has gone through 
than of that to which it is not yet arrived. But so it is 
with a soul that rests not on these foundation principles ; 
he presses forwards, and the ground crumbles away un- 
der his feet, and so he wilder s away all his days in un- 
certainties. Would men but establish this principle in 
their souls, and secure it against assaults, they might 
proceed, though not with so much speed as some do, yet 
with more safety. Some pretend at once to come into 
full assurance. I wish it may prove more than a mere pre- 
sumption. It is to no purpose for him to strive to fly who 
cannot yet walk ; to labor to come to assurance in him- 
self, who never well believed forgiveness in God. 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 123 



CHAPTER VII. 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 

That we may be enabled to settle our persuasion of 
forgiveness in God, I proceed to adduce unquestion- 
able evidences of this gospel truth, on which the soul 
may rest. 

That which may be known of God is of two kinds : 
first, his natural attributes, his omnipotence, eternity, 
holiness, &c. These are revealed in his works, and 
may be discovered by the light of nature. Rom. 1 : 19, 20. 

Secondly ; the free acts of his will and power, or his 
free eternal purposes, with the temporal dispensations 
that flow from them, which include his forgiveness, all 
which can be known only by special revelation. For 

There is in the heart of man no inbred notion of the 
acts of God's will. Forgiveness is not revealed by the 
light of nature ; flesh and blood declare it not. By that 
means rt no man hath seen God at any time," John, 1 : IS ; 
that is, as a God of mercy and pardon, as the Son reveals 
him. Adam had acquaintance, according to the limited 
capacity of a creature, with the properties and excel- 
lences of the nature of God. It was implanted in his 
heart, as indispensably necessary to that natural worship 
which, by the law of his creation, he was to perform ; 
but when he had sinned, it is evident that he had not 
the least apprehension that there was forgiveness with. 
God: such a thought would have laid a foundation of 
some further treaty with God about his condition. He 
had no other design but " of flying and hiding himself," 
Gen. 3 : 10 ; so declaring that he was utterly ignorant 
of any such thing as pardoning mercy. Such are all the 
first or natural conceptions of sinners-: namely, that it 



124 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

is r< the judgment of God," Rom. 1 : 32, that sin is to be 
punished with death. 

The consideration of his works will not help a man to 
the knowledge that there is forgiveness with God. The 
apostle tells us, Rom. 1 : 20, what it is of God that his 
works reveal — even his eternal power and Godhead, or 
the essential properties of his nature ; but no more : not 
any of the purposes of his grace \ not pardon and for- 
giveness. Besides, God made all things in such a state 
of rectitude and uprightness, Eccl. 7 : 29, that it was im- 
possible they should have any respect to sin, or to the 
pardon of it, of which they stood in no need. There 
being no such thing in the world as sin, nor any such 
thing supposed to be, when all things were made of no- 
thing, how could any thing declare or reveal the forgive- 
ness of it \ 

No works of GocVs providence can make known this 
forgiveness. God has indeed borne testimony to him- 
self and his goodness in all ages, from the foundation of 
the world, in the works of his providence. So, Acts, 
14 : 15-17, " We preach unto you, that you should turn 
from these vanities unto the living God, who made hea- 
ven and earth, and the sea, and ail things that are there- 
in : who, in times past, suffered all nations to walk in 
their own way. Nevertheless, he left not himself with- 
out witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from 
heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food 
and gladness :" — " He left not himself without witness ;" 
that is, by the works of his providence there recounted, 
he thus far bore testimony to himself, that he is, and is 
good, and doeth good, and ruleth the world; so that 
they were inexcusable who, not noticing these works of 
his, nor the fruits of his goodness which they lived upon, 
turned away after " vain things," as the apostle there calls 
the idols of the Gentiles. So again, Acts, 17 : 23-27. By 
arguments taken from his works, both of creation and 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 125 

providence, the apostle proves the being and properties 
of God j yea, he lets them know that God designed, by 
his works, so far to reveal himself to them, as the true 
and living God, the Maker and Governor of all things, 
that they ought to have inquired more diligently after 
him, and not to look on him as "the unknown God." 
But of the discovery of pardon and forgiveness in God, 
by these means, he speaks not; yea, he plainly shows 
that they were not thus manifested. The great call to 
saving repentance is by the revelation of forgiveness. 
But by these works of his providence God brought not 
the Gentiles to saving repentance. No, he " suffered 
them to walk still in their own ways," Acts, 14< : 16, 
" and winked at the times of their ignorance 5" but 
"now," that is, by the word of the Gospel, " command- 
eth them to repent." chap. 17 : 30. 

When man fell, there had been one signal act of God's 
providence about sin, but it was so far from revealing 
forgiveness in God, that it rather severely intimated the 
contrary. This was God's dealing with sinning angels. 
The angels were the first sinners, and God dealt first 
with them about sin. And what was his dealing with 
them the Holy Ghost tells us, " He spared not the sin- 
ning angels." 2 Pet. 2:4-. He spared them not: it is 
the same word as is used where he speaks of laying all 
our iniquities on Christ, he undergoing the punishment 
due to them, " He spared him not," Rom. 8 : 32 ; that is, 
he laid on him the full punishment that, by the curse 
and sanction of the law, was due to sin. So he dealt 
with the angels that sinned ; he spared them not, but in- 
flicted on them the punishment due to sin, shutting them 
up under chains of darkness for the judgment of the 
great day. Hitherto, then, God kept all thoughts of for- 
giveness in his own eternal bosom : there was not so 
much as the least dawning of it upon the world. And 
this was at first no small reason against any thoughts of 



126 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

forgiveness. The world is made, sin enters by the most 
glorious part of the creation, whose recovery by pardon 
might seem to be most desirable ; but not the least ap- 
pearance of it is discovered. Thus it was hid in God 
from the foundation of the world. Eph. 3 : 9. 

God gave to man a law of obedience immediately upon 
his creation. This law it was supposed that man might 
transgress. The very nature of a law prescribed to free 
agents, attended with threatenings and promises of re- 
ward, requires that supposition. Now there w T as not an- 
nexed to this law, or revealed with it, the least intima- 
tion of pardon to be obtained, if transgression should 
ensue. u In the day thou eatest, thou shalt surely die :" 
dying, thou shalt die ; or bring upon thyself assuredly 
the guilt of death, temporal and eternal. There God 
leaves the sinner. Of forgiveness, or pardoning mercy, 
there is not the least intimation. To this very day that 
law, which was then the whole rule of life and accept- 
ance with God, knows no such thing. Dying, thou shalt 
die, sinner, is its precise and final voice. 

From these preliminary considerations, in connection 
with what was before said, some things preparatory to 
the ensuing discourse may be inferred. 

1. It is a great and rare thing to have forgiveness in 
God discovered to a sinful soul. Conscience and law, 
with the inbred notions in the heart of man about God's 
holiness and vindictive justice, lie against it. It is a mat- 
ter of which there is no common notion in the mind of 
man ; a thing which no consideration of the works of 
God, either of creation or providence, will reveal ] and 
which the great instance of God's dealing with sinning 
angels renders deep, admirable and mysterious. Men 
who have common and slight thoughts of God, of them- 
selves, of sin, of obedience, of the judgment to come, 
of eternity, that feed upon the ashes of rumors, reports, 
hearsays, traditions, without looking into the reality of 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 127 

things, may, and do take this to be an ordinary and ac- 
knowledged truth, easy to be entertained, which no man 
disbelieves. But convinced sinners who make a trial of 
these things, as running into eternity, have other thoughts 
of them. And as to that which it is pretended every 
one believes, w r e have great cause to cry out, ^ Lord, 
who hath believed our report] to whom hath this arm 
of the Lord been revealed 1" 

2. The discovery of forgiveness in God, being a mat- 
ter of such great difficulty, is a thing precious and excel- 
lent, as being the foundation of all communion with God 
here, and of all undeceiving expectation of our enjoy- 
ment of him hereafter. It is a pure gospel-truth, that 
has neither shadow, footstep nor intimation elsewhere ; 
the whole creation has not the least obscure impression 
of it left thereon : so that, 

3. It is undoubtedly greatly incumbent on us to inquire 
diligently, as the prophets did of old, into this salvation ; 
to consider what sure evidences faith has that w r ill not, 
cannot fail us. To be superficial in this matter, to take 
it up at random, indicates an unsound and rotten heart. 
He that is not serious in his inquiry into the revelation 
of this matter, is serious in nothing in which God or his 
soul is concerned. The Holy Ghost knows what is our 
frame of heart, and how slow we are to receive this 
blessed truth in a gracious, saving manner. Therefore 
doth he confirm it to us with such weighty considera- 
tions, as, Heb. 6 : 17, 18, " God, willing more abundantly 
to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of 
his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immu- 
table things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, 
we might have strong consolation." It is of forgiveness 
of sin that the apostle treats, as has been already shown. 
Men may think that possibly God will not fulfil his pro- 
mises of mercy : No, saith the apostle, it is spoken by 
God, and it is impossible he should lie. Yea, but upon 



I 
128 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

the manifold provocations of sinners, he may change 
his mind and thoughts therein : No, saith the apostle, 
there is a peculiar immutability in his counsel concern- 
ing the execution of this thing ; there can be no change 
in it. But how does it appear that this indeed is the coun- 
sel of his will 1 Why, saith he, he hath declared it by his 
word, and that given in a way of promise j which, as in 
its own nature it is suited to raise an expectation in 
those to whom it is given, so it requires exact faithful- 
ness in the performance of it, which God, on his part, 
will assuredly fulfil. But neither is this all ; that no 
place might be left for any cavilling in this matter, "he 
interposeth himself by an oath." Thus we have this 
truth deduced from the veracity of God's nature, one 
of his essential excellences, established in the immuta- 
ble purposes of his will, brought forth by a word of pro- 
mise, and confirmed by God's interposing himself against 
all occasions of exception (so to put an end to all strife 
about it) by an oath, swearing by himself that so it should 
be. I have mentioned this to show what weight the Holy 
Ghost lays upon this great truth, and thence how deeply 
it concerns us to inquire diligently into it, and after the 
grounds and evidences of it 5 which, among others, are 
these that follow : 

I. The first evidence of forgiveness we have in the 
first promise. The earliest manifestation of forgiveness 
in God was made to our first parents after their shame- 
ful sin and fall ; in which the ensuing observations are 
to be considered. 

1. The first sin in the world was, on many accounts, 
the greatest sin in the world. It was the sin, as it were, 
of human nature, wherein there was a conspiracy of all 
individuals. Rom. 5:12. It left not God one subject, 
as to moral obedience, on earth, nor the ground that 
there should be such an one to eternity. When the an- 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. T29 

gels sinned, the whole race or kind did not fall. r Thou- 
sand thousands of them, and ten thousand times ten 
thousand continued in their obedience." Dan. 7 : 10. 
But here all and every individual gi mankind (he only 
excepted who was not then in Adam) were involved. 
Besides, it disturbed the government of God over the 
whole creation. God had made all things in order and 
beauty, pronouncing concerning his whole work, tha 
was exceedingly beautiful and good. Gen. 1 : 31. Much 
of this beauty lay in the subordination of one thing to 
another, and of all to himself, by the interposition of 
man, through whose praises and obedience the rest 
the creation, being made subject to him, was to return 
their tribute of honor and glory to God. But all this 
order was destroyed by this sin, and the very creation 
made subject to vanity. Kom. S : 20. 

2. Our first parent who sinned, subscribed in his heart 
and conscience to the righteous sentence of the law. 
He knew what he had deserved, and looked for nothing 
but the immediate execution of the sentence of de 
upon him. Hence he meditates not a defence, expc 
no pardon, stays not for a trial, but flees and hides, and 
attempts an escape. " I was afraid," saith he, n and 
hid myself," Gen. 3 : 10 ; than which never was there 
words of greater horror in the world, nor shall be troto 
the day of judgment. Poor man ! he was full of expec- 
tation of the vengeance due for a broken covenant. 

3. God had newly declared, in the sinning an- 
gels, what his justice required, and how he could 
deal with sinning man, without the least impeach- 
ment of his government, holiness, or goodness. See 
2 Pet, '2 : 4. 

-I*. There was nothing, without God himself, v 
should move him in the least, so much as to suspe 
the execution of his wrath for one moment ; he had - 
done so with the angels. All things now lay under 

6* 



130 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

wrath, curse, confusion, and disorder ; nothing was left 
good, lovely, or desirable in his sight. As in the 
first creation, that which was brought forth from no- 
thing, was " without form and void," so was it now 
again. There was an emptiness and vanity brought by 
sin upon the whole creation : nothing remained that 
might be a motive to a merciful restoration, but all is 
again devolved on his sovereignty. All things being in 
this state, in which all things conspired to the glory of 
God's justice in the punishing of sin $ the whole crea- 
tion, and especially the sinner himself, trembling in ex- 
pectation of a dreadful doom, what now cometh forth 
from him 1 The blessed word, " The seed of the woman 
shall bruise the serpent's head." Gen. 3 : 15. It is full 
well known, that the whole mystery of forgiveness is 
wrapt up in this one word of promise. And the great 
way of its coming forth from God, by the blood of the 
Messiah, whose heel was to be bruised, is also intimated. 
This was the first discovery ever made of forgiveness 
in God. By a word of pure revelation it was made, 
and so faith must take it up and receive it. Now, this 
revelation of forgiveness with God, in this one pro- 
mise, was the foundation of all the worship yielded to 
him by sinners for many ages 5 and this will continue 
to the end of the world, as a notable evidence of the 
truth before us, a firm foundation for faith to rest and 
build upon. Let a sinner seriously consider the state 
of things as they were, and then view God coming 
forth with a word of pardon and forgiveness, merely 
from his own love, and those counsels of peace be- 
tween the Father and the Son ; and he cannot but con- 
clude, under his greatest difficulties, that yet there is 
forgiveness with God, that he may be feared. Let now 
the law and conscience, let sin and Satan stand forth 
and except against this evidence : it is enough to put 
them all to silence. 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 131 

II. God revealed this sacred truth by the institution 
of sacrifices. Sacrifices by blood, do all of them re- 
spect atonement, expiation, and consequently forgive- 
ness. It is true, indeed, they could not themselves take 
away sin, nor make them perfect who came to God by 
them, Heb. 10 : 1, but yet they undeniably evince the 
taking away of sin, or the forgiveness of it, by what 
they did denote and typify. I shall therefore look back 
a little into their rise and intention. 

1. The origin of sacrifices is not in the Scripture ex- 
pressly mentioned : only the practice of the saints is 
recorded ^ but it is certain, from infallible scripture evi- 
dences, that they were of God's immediate appointment* 
God never allowed that the will or wisdom of man 
should be the spring and rule of his worship. That 
solemn word wherewith he prefaces the rule of his wor- 
ship, " Thou shalt not make to thyself," which is the 
life of the command, (that which follows being an ex- 
planation and confirmation of the lav/,) cuts off all such 
pretences, and is as a flaming sword turning every way 
to prevent men's arbitrary approaches to God's institu- 
tions. God will not part with his glory of being the 
only lawgiver, as to the whole concern of his worship, 
or any part of it, to any of the sons of men. 

2. Neither is the time of their institution mentioned, 
Some of the papists urge (for there is a generation of 
philosophical disputers amongst them, by whom their 
tottering cause is supported), that there would have 
been sacrifices in paradise if man had not sinned. But 
as, in all their dogmas, the first inquiry must be, what 
do they get by this or that, their whole religion being 
shaped to their carnal interest ; so we may in particular 
do it, upon this strange assertion, which is perfectly 
contradictory to the very nature and end of most sacri- 
fices, namely, that they should be offered where there 
is no sin. Why, they hope to establish hence a general 



132 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

rule, that there can be no true worship of God in any 
state or condition without sacrifice: What then 1 Why, 
then the continual sacrifice of the mass is necessary 
in the church, and without it there is no true worship 
of God; and thence their advantage and profit; the 
mass being that inexhaustible spring of revenue which 
feeds their pride and lust throughout the world. But 
there is in the church of Christ an altar still, and a 
sacrifice still, which they have rejected for the abomi- 
nable figment of their mass, namely, Christ himself ] as 
the apostle informs us, Heb. 13 : 10. But as the sacri- 
fices of beasts could not have been before the entrance 
of sin, so it may be shown that they were instituted 
from the foundation of the world, that is, presently after 
the entrance of sin. Christ is called the " Lamb of God," 
John, 1 : 29, which he was, in reference to the sacrifices 
of old, as 1 Pet. 1 : 18, 19 : whence he is represented as 
a "Lamb slain," Rev. 5 : 6, or giving out the efficacy 
of all sacrifices to his church. 

Now, he is said to be t? a Lamb slain from the founda- 
tion of the world," Rev. 13 : 8, which could not be, un- 
less some sacrifice prefiguring his being slain had been 
then offered; for it denotes not only the efficacy of his 
mediation, but the way. Besides, the apostle tells us 
that " without shedding of blood there was no remis- 
sion," Heb. 9 : 22 ; that is, God, to demonstrate that all 
forgiveness related to the blood of Christ, from the 
foundation of the world, gave out no word of pardon, 
but by blood. Now, I have shown that he revealed 
pardon in the first promise, and therefore there ensued 
the shedding of blood and sacrifices, and that testament 
or covenant was dedicated with blood, ver. 18. Some 
think that the beasts of whose skins God made garments 
for Adam, were offered in sacrifices. Nor is their con- 
jecture vain: yea, it seems fitting that their nakedness, 
which became their shame upon their sin, (whence the 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 133 

pollution and shame of sin is frequently so termed,) 
should be covered with the skins of their sacrifices; for 
in the true sacrifice there is somewhat answerable 
thereto : the righteousness of Him whose sacrifice takes 
away the guilt of our sin, is called our clothing, that 
hides our pollution and shame. 

3. After the giving of the law, the most noble and 
solemn pari of the worship of God consisted in sacrifices. 
And this kind of worship continued, with the approba- 
tion of God, from the entrance of sin until the death of 
the Messiah, the true sacrifice, which put an end to all 
that was typical. 

These things being premised, we may consider what 
was the mind and aim of God in the institution of this 
worship. One instance will answer this inquiry, Lev. 
16 : 20, 22-32. " He shall bring the live goat, and 
Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the 
live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the 
children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all 
their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and 
shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the 
wilderness, and the goat shall bear upon him all their 
iniquities unto a land not inhabited." 

Let us see to what end is all this solemnity, and 
what is declared thereby. Wherefore should God ap- 
point poor sinful men to come together, to take a goat 
or a lamb, and to confess over. his head all their sins 
and transgressions, and to devote him to destruction 
under that confession 1 Had men invented this them- 
selves, it had been a matter of no moment. But it was 
an institution of God, which he bound his church to 
observe, on penalty of his highest displeasure. Certainly 
this was a solemn declaration, that there is forgiveness 
with him. Would that God, who is infinitely good, and 
so will not, who is infinitely true, holy and faithful, and 
so cannot deceive, call out men whom he loved to a 



134} FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

solemn representation of a thing, wherein lay their chief, 
their eternal concern, and suffer them to feed upon 
ashes 1 Let men take heed that they mock not God ; 
for, of a truth, God mocketh not men, until he be finally 
rejected by them. For four thousand years, then, did 
God declare by sacrifices, that there is forgiveness with 
him, and lead his people by them to make a public re- 
presentation of it in the face of the world. 

III. God's prescribing repentance to sinners reveals 
that there is forgiveness with him. After the angels 
had sinned God never once called them to repentance. 
He would not deceive them, but let them know what 
they were to look for at his hands 5 he had no forgive- 
ness for them, and therefore would require no repent- 
ance of them. Their eternal anguish about sin com- 
mitted has nothing of repentance in it. The appoint- 
ment, then, of repentance, is a revelation of forgiveness. 
God would not call upon a sinful creature to humble 
itself, and bewail its sin, if there were no way of reco- 
very or relief; and the only way of recovery from the 
guilt of sin is pardon ; so Job, 33 : 27, 28. " He looketh 
on men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted 
that which was right, and it profited me not ; he will de- 
liver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall 
see the light." In the foregoing verses he declares the 
various ways that God used to bring men to repentance. 
He did it by dreams, ver. 15, 16; by afflictions, ver. 19 ; 
by the preaching of the word, ver. 23. What then is 
God's design in all these various ways of teaching 1 It 
is to cause man to say, I have sinned, and perverted that 
which was right. It is to bring him to repentance. What 
now, if God's design is gained and man comes to re- 
pentance 1 Why, then there is forgiveness for him, as is 
declared, ver. 28. To improve this evidence, I shall con- 
firm, by some considerations, these two things: First, 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 



135 



that the prescription of repentance doth indeed evince 
that there is forgiveness with God. Secondly, that every 
one in whom there is repentance wrought towards God, 
may certainly conclude that there is forgiveness with 
God for him. 

1. No repentance is acceptable with God but what rests 
on the faith of forgiveness. We have a cloud of wit- 
nesses to this truth in the Scripture. Many there have 
been, many are recorded, who have been convinced of. 
sin, perplexed about it, sorry for it, who have made open 
confession and acknowledgment of it, who, under the 
present sense of it, have cried out even to God for deli- 
verance, and yet have come short of mercy, pardon, 
and acceptance with God. The cases of Cain, Pharaoh, 
Saul, Ahab, Judas, and others, might be insisted on. 
What was wanting, that made all that they did abomi- 
nable 1 Consider one instance for all : it is said of Judas, 
that he repented, Matt. 27 : 3 ; " he repented himself;" 
but in what did this repentance consist! 1. He was 
convinceS of his sin in general ; u I have sinned," ver. 
4. 2. He was sensible of the particular sin of which he 
stood charged in conscience before God : " I have be- 
trayed innocent blood j" I am guilty of blood, innocent 
blood, and that in the vilest manner, by treachery. So 
that he comes, 3. To a full and open confession of his 
sin. 4. He makes restitution of what he had gained by 
his sin, -' he brought again the thirty pieces of silver," 
ver. 3, all testifying a hearty sorrow. Methinks now, 
Judas' s repentance looks like the young man's obedi- 
ence, who cried out, " All these things have I done : is 
there any thing yet lacking 1" Yea, one thing was want- 
ing to that young man, he had no true faith nor love to 
God, which vitiated and spoiled all the rest of his per- 
formances. One thing is also wanting to this repent- 
ance of Judas, he had no faith of forgiveness in God: 
that he could not believe ; and therefore after all this 






136 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

sorrow, instead of coming to him, he bids him the ut- 
most defiance, and hangs himself. 

What it is in particular, m this faith of forgiveness, 
which is indispensably necessary to render repentance 
acceptable, I do not here attempt to define. It is not an 
assurance of the acceptance of our persons in general. 
It is not, that the particular sin wherewith, it may be, 
the soul is perplexed, is forgiven. A general, if it be a 
gospel-discovery, that there is forgiveness in God, will 
suffice. It is expressed, Hos. 14 : 3, " In thee the fa- 
therless findeth mercy ;" and Joel, 2 : 14, " Who knows 
but he will return and repent 1" " I have this ground," 
saith the soul; t? God is in himself gracious and merci- 
ful; the fatherless, the destitute and helpless, that come 
to him by Christ, find mercy in him. None in heaven and 
earth can show, but that he may return to me also." Now, 
let a man's convictions be ever so great, sharp, wound- 
ing ; his sorrow ever so abundant, overflowing, abiding; 
his confession ever so full, free, or open; if this one 
thing be wanting, all is nothing but whut tend? to death. 

2. To prescribe to sinners repentance as a duty, with- 
out a foundation of pardon and forgiveness in God, is 
inconsistent with the wisdom, holiness, goodness, faith- 
fulness, and all the other excellencies and perfections 
of his nature. 

The apostle represents it as the great foundation of 
all consolation, that God cannot lie or deceive. Heb. 6 : 
18. And again, he engages the faithfulness and veracity 
of God to the same purpose. Tit. 1:2. tc God, who can- 
not lie, hath promised it." The very proposal of repent- 
ance to a sinner conveys the idea that there is forgive- 
ness with God. Eepenting is for sinners. " I came not," 
saith our Savior, " to call the righteous, but sinners, to 
repentance." It is for them, and them only. No such 
call was addressed to Adam in Eden ; none is to the an- 
gels in heaven, or to the damned in hell. What then is 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 137 

the import of their call 1 O sinners, come and deal with. 
God by repentance ! Does it not openly speak forgive- 
ness in God] and, if it were otherwise, could men possibly 
be more frustrated or deceived ! would not the institu- 
tion of repentance be a lie 1 Such a delusion may pro- 
ceed from Satan, but not from Him who is the fountain 
of goodness, holiness and truth. His call to repentance 
is a full demonstration of his readiness to forgive. Acts, 
17 : 30-32. It is true, many in this matter deceive them- 
selves. They raise themselves to an expectation of im- 
munity, not on gospel-grounds; and their disappoint- 
ment will be a great part of their punishment. But God 
deceives none ; whoever comes to him on his proposal 
of repentance shall find forgiveness. It is said of some, 
indeed, that he " will laugh at their calamity, and mock 
when their fear cometh." Prov. 1 : 26. He will aggra- 
vate their misery, by giving them to see to what their 
pride and folly have brought them. But who are they % 
Only such as refuse his call to repentance, with the pro- 
mises oracceptance annexed. 

There is then no cause why those who are under a 
call to repentance should question whether there be for- 
giveness in God. Come, saith the Lord, leave your sinful 
ways, turn unto me, humble yourselves with broken and 
contrite hearts. Alas ! say convinced sinners, we are 
poor, dark, and ignorant ; or, we are old in sin, or great 
sinners, or backsliders, or have fallen often into the 
same sins : can we expect there should be forgiveness 
for us % Why, you are under God's invitation to repent- 
ance 5 and to disbelieve forgiveness, is to call the truth, 
holiness, and faithfulness of God in question. If you 
will not believe forgiveness, pretend what you please, it 
is in truth because you hate repentance. You do but 
deceive your own souls when you pretend that you 
come not to repentance because you cannot believe for- 
giveness : for, in the very institution of this duty, God 



138 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

engages all his properties to make it good, that he has 
pardon and mercy for sinners 

Much less cause is there to doubt of forgiveness 
where sincere repentance is exercised in any degree. 
No soul comes to repentance but upon God's call. 
God calls none but those for whom he has mercy upon 
their coming. 

God expressly declares in the Scripture, that the forgive- 
ness which is with him is the foundation of his prescrib- 
ing repentance unto man. One instance may suffice, 
Isa. 55 : 7. "Let the wicked forsake his way," (in the 
Hebrew, a perverse wicked one;) "and the man of ini- 
quity his thoughts 5 and let him return unto the Lord, 
and he will have mercy ; and to our God, for," (in the 
Hebrew,) " he will multiply to pardon." You see to 
whom he speaks — to men perversely wicked, and such 
as make a trade of sinning. To what does he call them % 
Plainly to repentance, to the duty we have insisted on. 
But what is the ground of such an invitation to such 
profligate sinners 1 Why, the abundant forgivWness and 
pardon that is with him, superabounding to what the 
worst of them can stand in need of; as Rom. 5 : 20. 

This is another way whereby God has revealed that 
there is forgiveness with him, and an infallible founda- 
tion for faith to build upon, in its approaches to him. 
Nor can the certainty of this evidence be called into 
question, but on such grounds as are derogatory to the 
glory and honor of God. And this connection of re- 
pentance and forgiveness, is that principle from which 
God convinces a stubborn unbelieving people that all 
his ways and dealings with sinners are just and equal. 
Ezek. 18 : 25. And should there be any failure in it, 
they could not be so. Every soul, then, that is under a 
call to repentance, whether out of his natural condition, 
or from any backsliding into Mly after conversion, has 
a sufficient foundation to rest on, as to the pardon he 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS, 139 

inquires after. God is ready to deal with him on terms 
of mercy. If out of love to sin, or the power of unbe- 
lief, he refuse to close with God on these terms, his 
condemnation is just. 

Do any object that it is needless here to multiply 
arguments, since the truth that there is forgiveness with 
God is granted, as one of the fundamental principles of 
religion $ and as none call it in question, it requires no 
confirmation] We answer: 

1. That it is generally granted, is no argument that 
it is effectually believed. What will it avail any of us 
that there is forgiveness of sin with God, if our own 
sins be not forgiven! No more than that such or such 
a king is rich, whilst we are poor and starving. My 
aim is not to prove it as an opinion, or a mere specula- 
tive truth j but so to present it in the principles of its 
being and revelation, that it may be believed ; on which 
all our blessedness depends. 

2. It needs not the less confirmation because it is a 
plain fundamental truth 5 but rather the more, and that 
because of the worth and weight of it. " This is a 
faithful saying," saith the apostle, " worthy of all ac- 
ceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save 
sinners." So I say of this, which, for the' substance of 
it, is the same with that ; it is worthy of all acceptation, 
that there is forgiveness with God ; and therefore it 
ought to be fully confirmed ; especially whilst we 
make use of no other demonstrations of it but those 
which God has furnished ; and this he would not have 
done, but that he knew them to be needful for us. As 
for the plainness of this truth, it is well if it be so to us. 
This I know, nothing but the Spirit of God can make it 
so. Men may please themselves, and others sometimes, 
with curious speculations, and make them seem to be 
things of great import 5 which, when they are well ex- 



HO FORGIVENESS CF SIN. 

amined, are not true; or if true, are yet of little conse- 
quence. It is these fundamental truths that have the 
mysteries and grace of God inwrapped in them 5 which, 
whoso can unfold, aright, will show himself "a workman 
that needs not be ashamed." These still waters are 
deep j and the farther we dive into them, the greater 
discovery shall we make of their depths. 

3. We dwell on these evidences, because multitudes 
are concerned in them. All who do believe, and all who 
do not believe, are so ; those who do believe, that they 
may be established ; and those who do not believe, that 
they may be encouraged so to do. Among both these 
classes, some evidences may be more profitable and 
useful, some to one, some to another. It may be that 
amongst all, the whole will be gathered up, that no 
fragments be lost. They are all, I hope, instruments 
provided by the Holy Ghost for this end, and we en- 
deavor to commit them into his hand, to be made ef- 
fectual as he will. One may reach one soul, another 
another, according to his pleasure. One may be of use 
to establishment, another to consolation, a third to en- 
couragement, according as the necessities of souls re- 
quire. However, God, who has provided them, knows 
them all to be needful. 

4. They are so also on account of the various con- 
ditions in which the same believers may be. One may 
give help to the same soul at one season, another at 
another; one may secure the soulagainst a temptation, 
another stir it up to thankfulness and obedience. 

These things have I spoken, that you may not think 
we dwell too long on this consideration. And I pray 
God that your consolation and establishment may abound 
in the reading of these meditations, as I hope they have 
not been altogether without fruit in their preparation. 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS, 



141 



CHAPTER VIII. 



evidences of forgiveness — continued. 



We have considered the evidence that there is for- 
giveness in God, from the first promise ; the institution 
of sacrifices ; and God's requiring repentance. 

IV. Let us then, as a fourth evidence of this truth, 
consider those, both under the Old Testament and the 
New, concerning whom we have the greatest assurance 
that God forgave their sins, and they are now in the 
enjoyment of him. This argument the apostle insists 
upon, and presses from numerous instances, Heb. 11. 
How many does he there reckon up, who of old obtained 
a good report, and had this testimony, that they pleased 
God. c< All these inherited the promises through believ- 
ing ;" ver. 13 ; that is, obtained the forgiveness of sin. 
For as by nature they were children of wrath, and under 
the curse, without forgiveness, every one of them would 
have continued in the state wherein Adam was when 
he heard the voice of God, and was afraid, Wherefore 
it being evident that some persons, in all generations, 
have enjoyed the friendship, love, and favor of God in 
this world, and at their departure out of it have entered 
into glory, it makes it evident that there is forgiveness of 
sin with him, without which these things could not be. 

Let us, like the apostle, mention some examples. 
Look to Abraham ; he was the friend of God, and 
walked with God ; God made a solemn covenant with 
him, and takes it for his memorial throughout all genera- 
tions, that he is the God of Abraham: and he is doubt- 
less now at rest with God. Our Savior calls the place 
or condition into which blessed souls are gathered, 
" Abraham's bosom." 



14-2 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

The condition was the same with Isaac and Jacob; 
they also are in heaven, being alive unto and with God. 
Our Savior proves it from the tenor of the covenant, 
ff I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the 
God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of 
the living." Matt. 22 : 32. They are yet alive, alive 
unto God, and with him, by virtue of the covenant ; or, 
after their death God would not be said to be their 
God. This is the force of our Savior's argument, that 
after their death God was still their God. Then death 
had not reached their whole persons ; they were still 
alive with God in heaven ; and their bodies, by virtue 
of the same covenant, were to be recovered out of the 
dust. 

The same is the state with David. He was a man 
after God's own heart. And, though he died, and his 
body saw corruption, yet he is not lost; he is with God 
in heaven. Hence he ended his days triumphantly, in a 
full apprehension of eternal rest, beyond what could in 
this world be attained, and that by virtue of the cove- 
nant : for these are the last words of David, " Although 
my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with 
me an everlasting covenant," ascertaining to him sure 
and eternal mercies. 2 Sam. 23 : 5. 

Peter also is in heaven. Christ prayed for him, that 
his faith should not fail ; and in his death he glorified 
God. John, 21 : 19. 

So is Paul: he knew that when he was dissolved, he 
should be with Christ. Here, then, we are encompassed 
with a cloud of witnesses. For, 

1. It is most certain that they were all sinners; they 
were all so by nature ; for in this there is no difference 
among the children of men. And by practice also they 
were sinners: they confessed themselves to be such, 
and some of the sins of all of them stand upon record ; 
yea, some of them were great sinners. Some before 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 143 

their conversion, as Abraham, who was an idolater, 
Joshua, 24 : 2, 3 ; and Paul, who was a persecutor and a 
blasphemer. Some after their conversion 5 some in sins 
of the flesh, as David 5 and some in sins of profession, 
as Peter. Nothing, then, is more evident, than that no 
one of them came to rest with God but by -forgiveness. 
Had they never been guilty of any sin but what is left 
upon record concerning them in holy writ, yet they 
could be saved no other way ; for he that transgresseth 
the law in any one point, is guilty of the breach of the 
whole. James, 2 : 10. 

What shall we now sayl Do we think that God. has 
forgiveness only for this or that individual 1 No man 
questions but that all these were pardoned. Was it by 
virtue of any special personal privilege, that was pecu- 
liar to them % Whence should any such privilege arise, 
seeing, by nature, they were no better than others, nor 
would have been so personally, had not they been de- 
livered from sin, and prepared for obedience, by grace 
and pardon 1 Wherefore, they all obtained forgiveness, 
by virtue of the covenant, from the forgiveness which 
is with God. And this is equally ready for others, who 
come to God the same way that they did , that is, by 
faith and repentance. 

2. Many of those, concerning whom we have the as- 
surance mentioned, were not only sinners, but great 
sinners^ as was said, which must be also insisted on 
to obviate another objection. For some may say, 
that though they were sinners, yet they were not such 
sinners as we are ; and though they obtained forgive- 
ness, yet this is no argument that we shall, who are 
guilty of sins unlike theirs, and attended with peculiar 
aggravations. To which I say, that I delight not in ag- 
gravating, no, nor yet in repeating, the sins and faults 
of the saints of God of old. Not only the grace of God, 
but the sins of men, have by some been turned into 



144 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

lasciviousness, or been made a cloak for their lusts. 
But yet, for the ends for which they are recorded by 
the Holy Ghost, we may mention them. That they may 
warn us of our duty ; that we take heed lest we also 
fall ; that they may yield us a relief under our sur- 
prisals, are they written. So then, where the mention 
of them tends to the advancement of sovereign grace 
and mercy, which is the case in hand, we may insist on 
them. I think, then, that without mention of parti- 
culars, I may safely say that there is no sin, no de- 
gree of sin, no aggravating circumstance of sin, no 
kind of continuance in sin, (one sin only excepted,) but 
that there are those in heaven who have been guilty of 
them. 

It may be, some will say, that they have considered 
the sins of Lot, David, Peter, Paul, and the thief him- 
self on the cross, and yet they find not their own con- 
dition exemplified, so as to conclude that they shall 
have the same forgiveness wiih them. 

Answer 1. I am not showing that this or that man 
shall be pardoned, but only demonstrating that there is 
forgiveness with God, and that for all sorts of sins and 
sinners, which these instances do assuredly confirm. 
And, moreover, they manifest that if other men are not 
pardoned, it is merely because they make not that ap- 
plication for forgiveness which they did. 

2. Yet, by the way, to meet this objection, consider 
also what the apostle says in particular concerning the 
several classes of sinners that obtained mercy. " Be not 
deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adul- 
terers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with 
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor 
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of 
God. And such were some of you : but ye are washed, 
but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified," 1 Cor. (i : 
9, 10, 11. Hell can scarce, in more words, yield us a 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 145 

sadder catalogue. Yet ff some " of all these classes were 
justified and pardoned. 

3. Suppose this enumeration of sins does not reach 
the condition of the soul, because of some special aggra- 
vation of its sin, not expressed, let such a one add that 
of our Savior, w I say unto you, all manner of sin and 
blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blas- 
phemy against the Holy Ghost." Matt. 12:31. They 
are not, they shall not, be all actually remitted and par- 
doned to all men; but they are all pardonable to those 
that seek to obtain pardon for them according to the 
Gospel. There is with God forgiveness for them all. 
Now, certainly any particular sin, that only excepted, 
comes within the compass of " all manner of sin and 
blasphemy ;" and so, consequently, some who have been 
guilty of it are in heaven. 

We take it for a good token and evidence of a vir- 
tuous healing water, when, without fraud or pretence, 
we see the crutches of cured cripples and impotent per- 
sons hung about as a memorial of its efficacy. And it is 
a great demonstration of the skill of a physician, when 
many come to a sick person and tell him, We had the 
same disease with you, it had the same symptoms, the 
same effects, and by his skill and care we are cured. 
Oh ! saith the sick man, bring him to me, I will venture 
my life in his hand. Nov/, all the saints of heaven stand 
about a sin-sick soul, for in this matter we are encom- 
passed with a cloud of witnesses. Heb. 12 : 1. And what 
do they witness 1 What say they to a poor guilty sin- 
ner 1 As thou art, so were we ; so guilty, so perplexed, 
so obnoxious to wrath, so fearing destruction from God! 
And what course did you take to obtain the blessed con- 
dition wherein you now are 1 They all reply, We went 
to God, through Christ, for forgiveness, and found plenty 
of grace, mercy and pardon in him for us all ! The rich 
man in the parable thought it would be a great means 

Forgiveness. • 



146 FORGIVENESS OF SIN* 

of conversion, if one should rise from the dead and 
preach ; but here we see that all the saints departed, and 
now in glory, do jointly preach this fundamental truth, 
that there is forgiveness with God. 

Poor souls are apt to think that all those whom they 
read or hear of as gone to heaven, went thither because 
they were so good and so holy. It is true, many of them 
were eminently so in their generation. All of them were 
so according to their degrees and measures 5 for " with- 
out holiness no man can see God." And it is our duty 
to labor to be like them in holiness, if ever we intend 
to be so in happiness and glory. But yet not one of 
them — not any one that is now in heaven, Jesus Christ 
alone excepted, — ever came thither any other way but 
by forgiveness of sin : and that will also bring us thither, 
though we come short of many of them in holiness and 
grace. 

This evidence of forgiveness I the rather urge, be- 
cause I find the apostle Paul doing it eminently in his 
own person : " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of 
all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners, of whom I am chief. Howbeit, for this 
cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ 
might show forth all long-suffering,/or a pattern to them 
that should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." 
1 Tim. 1:12, 13, 15, 16. A great sinner, saith he, the 
chief of sinners I was, which he manifests by some no- 
table instances of his sin. I was, saith he, a blasphemer, 
the highest sin against God; a persecutor, the highest 
sin against the saints; injurious, the highest wickedness 
towards mankind : but " I obtained mercy," I am par- 
doned, and that with most blessed effects. After all this, 
he was so accounted faithful as to be put into the minis- 
try, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ towards him 
was exceeding abundant. And what was the reason that 
he was thus dealt with 1 Why, it was that he might be 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 147 

a pattern, an evidence, an argument, that there was 
grace, mercy, forgiveness, to be had for all sorts of sin- 
ners that would believe to life everlasting. 

To conclude, then, this evidence : — Every one who is 
now in heaven has his pardon sealed in the blood of 
Christ. All these pardons are set before us in the Gos- 
pel 5 they are enrolled in its promises for the encourage- 
ment of those who stand in need of forgiveness. Fear 
not, then, the guilt of sin, but the love of it, and the 
power of it. If we love sin better than forgiveness, we 
shall assuredly fail of forgiveness ; but if we had rather 
be pardoned in God's way than perish, our condition 
is secure. 

V. The same is evident from the patience of God to- 
wards the world ; in reference to which we may observe, 

1. That upon the first entrance of sin, God might im- 
mediately have executed the threatened curse, and brought 
eternal death upon them that sinned. Justice required 
that it should be so, and there was nothing in the whole 
creation to interpose so much as for a reprieve or re- 
spite of vengeance. And had God then sent sinning 
man, with the apostate angels that induced him to sin, 
immediately into eternal destruction, he would have 
been glorified in his righteousness by the angels that 
sinned not ; or he could have created a new race of in- 
nocent creatures, to have worshipped and glorified him 
for his righteous judgment ; even as all the elect at the 
last day shall do for the destruction of ungodly men. 

2. God hath not taken this course. He hath continued 
the race of mankind for a long season on the earth ; he 
hath watched over them with his providence, and exer- 
cised exceeding patience, forbearance and long-suffering 
towards them. This the apostle Paul at large discourses 
on, Acts, 14:15-17; 17:24-30; as also Rom. 2:4; 
and it is open and manifest in the event. The whole 



118 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

world is every day filled with tokens of the power and 
patience of God. Every nation, every city, every family 
is filled with them. 

3. There is a common abuse of this patience of God 
visible in the world in all generations. So it was of old. 
God saw it to be so, and complained of it. Gen. 6 : 5, 6. 
All the sin and wickedness that has been in the world, 
which no heart can conceive, no tongue can express, 
has been an abuse of this patience of God. This, with 
most men, is the consequence of God's patience and 
forbearance. They count this a season to fulfil all the 
abominations that their evil hearts can suggest to them, 
or Satan draw them into. This the state of things in the 
world proclaims, and every one's experience confirms. 

4. Let us therefore consider what is the true and pro- 
per design of this patience of God towards the world, 
enduring it in sin and wickedness for so long a season, 
and suffering one generation to be multiplied after an- 
other. Shall we think that God has no other design in 
all this patience towards mankind in all generations, but 
merely to suffer them, all and every one, without excep- 
tion, to sin against him, dishonor him, provoke him y 
that so he may at length everlastingly destroy them 
all % It is confessed that this is the consequence, the 
event with most men, through their perverse wicked- 
ness, with their love of sin and pleasure. But is this 
the design of Godl his only design'? has he no other 
purpose but merely to bear with them awhile in their 
folly, and then to avenge himself upon them 1 Is this 
his intention, not only towards those who are obstinate 
in their darkness, ignorance and rebellion against him, 
whose damnation is just and sleepeth not, but also 
towards those whom he stirs up by his grace to seek 
deliverance from the state of sin and death? God for- 
bid ; yea, such an apprehension would be contrary to 
all those notions of the infinite wisdom and goodness 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 149 

of God which are engrafted upon our hearts by na- 
ture, and which all his works declare. Whatever, 
therefore, it be, this cannot be the design of God in 
his patience towards the world. He must long since 
have cut ofT the whole race of mankind if he had had 
no other thoughts and purposes towards them. 

Let us, therefore, see what is the end or design of 
this patience, and what it teaches us. It can have no 
end but that before rejected, unless there be forgive- 
ness of sins with God. Unless God be ready to forgive 
the sins of them that come to him according to his ap- 
pointment, his patience is merely subservient to a de- 
sign of wrath, and a resolution -to destroy. But this 
would reflect unspeakable dishonor upon the holy God. 
Let a man deal thus, and it manifests an evil and per- 
verse habit of mind. Let him bear with those who are 
in his power, in their faults, with no other design but 
that he may take advantage to bring a greater punish- 
ment and revenge upon them ; and what more vile af- 
fection, what more wretched corruption of heart and 
mind can he manifest 1 And shall we think that this is 
the whole design of the patience of God 1 God forbid ! 

It may be objected to this argument, that it is said 
that God, " willing to show his wrath, and to make his 
power known, endures with much long-suffering the 
vessels of wrath fitted for destruction," Rom. 9 : 22; 
and thus it seems that the end of God's endurance 
and long suffering, to some at least, is only their fitting 
for destruction. 

I answer : God's " enduring with much long-suffer- 
ing," merely implies his withholding, for a season, the 
destruction which he might justly inflict : his patience 
denotes acting in a way of goodness and kindness for 
some special end. The next verse declares the great end 
of God's patience, and answers this objection, that " he 
might make known the riches of his glory in the ves- 



150 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

sels of mercy which he had prepared for glory," verse 
23. This is the great end of God's patience, which 
while he pursues towards the vessels of mercy, he en- 
dares others with much long-suffering and forbearance. 
This, then, is fully evident, that there could be no suffi- 
cient reason assigned for the patience of God towards 
sinners, but that there is forgiveness prepared for them 
that come to him by Christ, to which Scripture clearly 
testifies. 2 Pet. 3 : 9. The question is, what is the reason 
why God forbears the execution of his judgment upon 
ungodly men ! Some would have it that God is slack ; 
that is, regardless of the sins of men, and takes no 
notice of them. No, saith the apostle, God has another 
design in his patience and long-suffering. What is this ! 
It is, to manifest that he is not willing we should perish. 
This it is which we have proved. For our freedom 
from destruction is by repentance, which necessarily 
infers the forgiveness of sin. So Paul tells us, that in 
the Gospel is declared what is the end of God's pa- 
tience and forbearance ; namely, " the remission of 
sins." Rom. 3 : 25. 

Let us then bear in mind this evidence, in the apply- 
ing ourselves to God for pardon. It is certain that God 
might have taken us from our birth, and have cast us 
into utter darkness. And, in the course of our lives, 
we have been guilty of such provocations as God might 
justly have visited, to glorify his justice and severity 
in our ruin. But yet we have lived thus long in the pa- 
tience and forbearance of God. And to what end has 
he thus spared us! Is it not that he might, by his pa- 
tience, give us leave and space to get an interest in that 
forgiveness which he thus testifies to be in himself? 
Let us then be encouraged by it, to use it to the end 
and purpose for which it is exercised towards us. 

You that are yet in doubt of your condition, con- 
sider that the patience of God was extended to you 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 151 

this day, this very day, that you might use it for the 
obtaining of the remission of your sins. Lose not this 
day, nor one day more, as you love your souls ; for 
woful will be their condition who shall perish for des- 
pising or abusing the patience of God. 

VI. The faith and experience of the saints in this 
w r orld concur in this testimony, and we know that their 
record in this matter is true. Let us then ask them 
what they believe, what they have found, what they 
have experience of, as to the forgiveness of sin 1 

This God himself directs and leads us to, by appeal- 
ing to our own experience; whence he shows us that 
we may take relief and support in our distresses. Isaiah, 
* 40 : 28. u Hast thou not heard 1 Hast thou not known V 
Hast not thou thyself, who now criest out that thou 
art lost and undone, because God hath forsaken thee, 
found and known by experience the contrary, from his 
former dealings with thee ! And if our own experience 
may confirm us against the workings of our unbelief, so 
may that of others. Thus Eliphaz directs Job, " Call 
now, if there be any that will answer thee, and to which 
of the saints wilt thou look V chap. 5:1. It is not a 
supplication to them for help that is intended, but an in- 
quiry after their experience in the case in hand, where- 
in he wrongfully thought they could not justify Job. In 
the Hebrew " to which of the saints, on the right hand 
or the left, wilt thou have regard in this matter 1" Some 
would foolishly hence seek to confirm the invocation of 
departed saints : when indeed, if they were intended, it 
is rather forbidden and discountenanced than directed 
to. But the saints here are, "the saints that are in the 
earth," Psalm 16 : 3, into whose experience Job is di- 
rected to inquire. David makes it a great encouragement 
to waiting upon God, as a God hearing prayer, that 
others had done so, and found success, Psalm 34* : 6, 



152 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

ft This poor man cried unto the Lord, and the Lord 
heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." If 
he did so, and had the blessed issue, why should not 
we do so also 1 The experiences of one are often pro- 
posed for the confirmation and establishment of others : 
"Come," says David, <f and hear, all ye that fear God, 
and I will declare what he hath done for my soul." 
Psalm 66 : 16. He contents not himself to remind them 
of the word, promises, and providence of God, which he 
does most frequently 5 but he gives them the encourage- 
ment and support of his own experience. 

So Paul tells us, " that he was comforted of God in 
all his tribulations, that he might be able to comfort 
them which are in any trouble, by the comfort where- 
with he himself was comforted of God," 2 Cor. 1:4; that 
is, that he might be able to communicate to them his 
own experience of God's dealing with him, and the satis- 
faction and assurance he found therein. So also he pro- 
poses the example of God's dealing with him in the par- 
don of his sins, as a great motive to others to believe. 
1 Tim. 1 : 13-16. And this mutual communication of 
satisfying experiences in the things of God, or of cur 
spiritual sense and evidence of the power, efficacy, reali- 
ty of gospel-truths, being rightly improved, is of great 
benefit to all classes of believers. So the same great 
apostle acquaints us in his own example, " I long to see 
you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the 
end you may be established ; that is, that I may be com- 
forted together with you, by the mutual faith both of 
you and me." Rom. 1: 11, 12. He longed, not only to 
be instructing them in the pursuit of the work of the 
ministry committed to him, but to confer also with them 
about their mutual faith, and what experience of the 
peace of God in believing they had attained. 

We have before called in the testimony of the saints 
in heaven, with whom those on earth make up one fami- 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 153 

]y, even that one family in heaven and earth, which is 
called after the name of the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, Eph. 3 : 14, 15 \ and they all agree in their testi- 
mony, as becomes the family and children of God. Bat 
these below we may deal personally with \ whereas we 
gather the witness of the other only from what is left 
upon record concerning them. And here several things 
are to be observed. 

Men living in the profession of religion, and not expe- 
riencing its power and efficacy in their hearts, are, what- 
ever they profess, very near to atheism. If they profess 
to know God, but in works deny him, * r they are abomi- 
nable, and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate. 55 
Tit. 1 : 16. Let such men lay aside tradition and custom, 
let them give up themselves to a free and rational con- 
sideration of things, and they will quickly find that all 
their profession is but miserable self-deceiving ; and 
that indeed they believe not one word of the religion 
which they profess. Of what their religion affirms to 
be in themselves, they find no evidence in its real exis- 
tence in their own hearts. And what evidence have they 
that their faith in whatever else it reveals is genuine 1 
If they have no experience of what it affirms to be with- 
in them, what confidence can they have in their belief 
of the reality of what it reveals to be without them 1 
John tells us, that ^ he who saith he loves God whom 
he hath not seen, and doth not love his brother whom 
he hath seen, is a liar. 55 So he who believes not. who 
experiences not, the power of that which the religion he 
professes affirms to be in him, if he says that he be- 
lieves other things of which he can have no experience, 
he deceives himself. For instance, he that professes 
the Gospel, avows that the death of Christ crucifies sin; 
that faith purifies the heart ; that the Holy Ghost quick- 
ens the soul to duty 5 that God is gracious to all that 
come to him ; that there is precious communion to be 



154* FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

obtained with him by Christ ; that there is great joy 
in believing. These things are plainly, openly, and fre- 
quently insisted on in the Gospel. But if men have lived 
long in the profession of these things, saying that they 
are so, but indeed find nothing of truth, reality, or pow- 
er in them, have no experience of the effects of them in 
their own souls, what stable ground have they of confi- 
dence in their belief of any thing else in the Gospel, of 
which they cannot have experience 1 A man professes 
that the death of Christ will mortify sin and subdue cor- 
ruption ; why does he believe it % because it is so affirm- 
ed in the Gospel. But does he in his own experience 
find it to be so % Has it this effect on his soul, in his own 
heart % Not at all ; he finds no such thing in him. How 
then does this man savingly believe that Jesus Christ is 
the Son of God because it is affirmed in the Gospel, see- 
ing he finds no real truth in what it affirms to be in him- 
self? So our Savior argues, "if I have told you earthly 
things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell 
you heavenly things V John, 3 : 12. If you believe not 
the doctrine of regeneration, which you ought to expe- 
rience as wrought in the hearts of men on earth ; how 
do you believe those heavenly mysteries of the Gospel, 
which at first are to be received by a pure act of faith, 
without any present sense or experience. 

Of all dangers, therefore, in profession, let professors 
take heed of this; namely, of a customary, traditional 
or doctrinal owning such truths as ought to have their 
effects and accomplishment in themselves, whilst they 
have no experience of their reality and efficacy. This 
is plainly to have a form of godliness, and to deny the 
power thereof: and of this sort of men do we see many 
turning atheists, scoffers, and often apostates ; they find 
in themselves that their profession was a lie, and that, 
in truth, they had none of those things which they 
talked of. Finding these things, which they have pro- 






. 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 155 

fessed to be in them, not to be in them, they think 
that what they have believed of the things that are 
without them, is also vain, and that they may be re- 
jected altogether. 

You will say, then, What shall a man do who can- 
not find experience in himself of what is affirmed in 
the word 1 He cannot find the death of Christ cruci- 
fying sin in him, and he cannot find the Holy Ghost 
sanctifying his nature, nor obtain joy in believing. 
What shall he then do % shall he not believe or pro- 
fess those things to be so, because he cannot obtain 
a blessed experience of them] I answer, our Savior 
has given full direction in this case : " If any man will 
do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it 
be of God, or whether I speak of myself." John, 7 : 
17. Continue in the things revealed in the doctrine 
of the Gospel, and you shall have a satisfactory ex- 
perience that they are true, and that they are of God : 
cease not to act faith on them, and you shall find their 
effects 5 for " then shall we know, if we follow on to 
know the Lord." Hosea, 6 : 3. Experience will ensue 
upon permanency in faith and obedience. Yea, the 
first act of sincere believing will be accompanied with 
such a taste, will give the soul so much experience as 
to produce a firm adherence to the things believed. 
This is the way to prove " what is that good, and ac- 
ceptable, and perfect will of God," which is revealed 
to us." Komans, 12 : 2. 

Where there is an inward, spiritual experience of 
the power, reality, and efficacy of any supernatural 
truth, it gives great satisfaction, stability, and assur- 
ance to the soul. It removes from the soul the fear 
of being deceived ; and gives it to have the testimony 
of God in itself. So the apostle tells us, "He that be- 
lieveth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself." 
1 John, 5 : 10. He had discoursed of the manifold 












156 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

testimony that is given in heaven by all the holy per- 
sons of the Trinity, and on earth by grace and ordinan- 
ces, to the forgiveness of sin and eternal life to be ob- 
tained by Jesus Christ. And this record is true, firm 
and stable, an abiding foundation for souls to rest upon, 
that will never deceive them. But yet all this mercy of 
God is a thing that exists without us ; it is what we 
have no experience of in ourselves : we rest upon it 
only because of the authority and faithfulness of Him 
that reveals it. Still it is a fact that he who actually be- 
lieves has the testimony in himself; he has, by experi- 
ence, a real evidence and assurance of the things testi- 
fied to, namely, that God hath given us eternal life, 
and that this life is in the Son," verse 11. Let us then 
consider in what this evidence consists, and whence 
this assurance arises. 

1. There is a great correspondence betwee?i the heart of a 
believer and the truth he believes. As the word is in the 
Gospel, so is grace in the heart; yea, they are the same 
thing variously expressed, " Ye have obeyed from the 
heart that form of doctrine delivered unto you." Rom. 
6 : 17. I know not how in few words to express what is 
emphatically here insinuated by the Holy Ghost. The 
meaning is, that the doctrine of the Gospel begets the 
form, figure, image, or likeness of itself, in the hearts 
of them that believe ; so that they are cast into the 
mould of it. As is the one, so is the other: as is rege- 
neration, so is a regenerate heart ; as is the doctrine of 
faith, so is a believer : and this gives great assurance of 
the things that are believed. As we have heard, so we 
have seen and found it ; such a soul can produce the 
duplicate of the word, and so adjust all things thereby. 

2. The first original expression of divine truth is not 
in the word, no, not as given out from the infinite abyss 
of divine wisdom and veracity, but it is laid up and ex- 
pressed in the person of Christ. He is " the first pattern 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 157 

of truth," which from him is expressed in the word, 
and from and by the word impressed on the hearts of 
believers ; so that, as it has pleased God that all the 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge should be in him, 
dwell in him, have their principal residence in him, 
Col. 2:3; so the whole word is but a revelation of 
the truth in Christ, or an expression of his image and 
likeness to the sons of men. Thus we are said to ?t learn 
the truth as it is in Jesus." Eph. 4 :21. It is in Jesus 
originally, and from him is communicated to us by the 
word. We are thereby taught, and do learn it j for 
thereby, as the apostle proceeds, a we are renewed in 
the spirit of our mind, and do put on the new man, 
which, after God, is created in righteousness and true 
holiness," verse 23, 24. First, the truth is in Jesus ; 
then it is expressed in the word : this word, learned and 
believed, becomes grace in the heart, every way an- 
swering to the Lord Christ's image, from whom this 
transforming truth did thus proceed. Nay, this is carried 
by the apostle yet higher, namely, to God the Father him- 
self, whose image Christ is, as believers are his, through 
the word : K We all with open face, beholding, as in a 
glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same 
image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord," 
2 Cor. 3 : 18 ; to which add, chap. 4:6, rf God, who 
commanded light to shine out of darkness, hath shined 
into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of 
God in the face of Jesus Christ." 

The first pattern or example of all truth and holiness, 
is God himself, of whom Christ is the image, " the 
brightness of his glory, and the express image of his 
person." Heb. 1:3. ff The image of the invisible God." 
Col. 1 : 15. Hence we are said to see the glory of 
God in the face of Jesus Christ ; because he being his 
image, the love, grace, and truth of the Father are re- 
presented and made conspicuous in him. We are said 












■■■ 






158 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

to behold it in his face, because of the open and illus- 
trious manifestation of the glory of God in him. And 
how do we behold this glory 1 In a glass, " as in a 
glass," that is, in the Gospel, which hath the image and 
likeness of Christ, who is the image of God, reflected 
upon it and communicated to it. So have we traced 
truth and grace from the person of the Father, to the 
Son as Mediator, and thence transfused into the word. 
But doth it abide there 1 No, God by the word of the 
Gospel " shines into our hearts." 2 Cor. 4< : 6. Heir- 
radiates our minds with a saving light into it, and ap- 
prehension of it. And what thence ensues 1 The soul 
of a believer is changed into the same image, by the 
effectual working of the Holy Ghost, chap. 3:13, that 
is, the likeness of Christ implanted on the word, is im- 
pressed on the soul itself, whereby it is renewed into 
the image of God. This brings all into a perfect har- 
mony. Where Gospel truth is effectually received and 
experienced in the soul, there is not only a consonancy 
between the soul and the word, but between the soul 
and Christ by the word, and the soul and God by 
Christ. And this gives assured establishment to the 
soul in the things it believes. Divine truth so con- 
veyed to us, is firm, stable, and immovable. And we 
can say of it in a spiritual sense, tr That which we have 
heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, which 
we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of 
the word of life," we know to be true. Yea, a believer 
is a testimony to the certainty of truth. Words may be 
pretended; real effects have their testimony insepara- 
bly annexed to them. 

3. Hence it appears that there must be great assu- 
ranee of the truths which are thus received and be- 
lieved. For hereby are " the senses exercised to dis- 
cern good and evil." Heb. 5 : 14. Where there is a 
spiritual sense of truth, from an inward experience of 






EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 159 

what is so good, and thence an aversion to the contrary, 
and this obtained by an habitual frame of heart, there is 
strength, there is steadfastness and assurance. This 
is the teaching of the " unction from the Holy One," 
which will not, which cannot deceive. Hence many of 
old and of late, that could not argue, could yet die for 
the truth. He who came to another, and went about to 
prove by sophistical reasons that there was no such 
thing as motion, had only this return from him, who 
either was not able to answer his cavilling, or was un- 
willing to trouble himself about it ; he arose, and walk- 
ing up and down, gave him a real confutation of his so- 
phistry. It is so in this case ; when one has a real ex- 
perience of the grace of God, of the pardon of sin, of 
the virtue and efficacy of the death of Christ, of justifi- 
cation by his blood, and peace with God by believing ; 
let men or devils, or angels from heaven, oppose these 
things, if he cannot answer their sophisms, yet he can 
" rise up and walk ," he can, with all holy confidence 
and assurance, oppose his own satisfying experience to 









all their arguings and suggestions. A man will not be 
disputed out of what he sees and feels ; and a believer 
w r ill abide as firmly by his spiritual sense as any man 
can by his natural sense. 

This is the meaning of that prayer of the apostle, 
Col. 2 : 2, tf That your hearts might be comforted, being 
knit together in love, to all riches of the full assurance 
of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mys- 
tery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ." Under- 
standing in the mysteries of the Gospel they had ; but 
lie prays, that by a farther experience of it they might 
come to the u assurance of understanding." To be true, 
is the property of the doctrine itself; to be certain or 
assured, is the property of our minds. Now this expe- 
rience so unites the mind and truth, that we say, such 
a truth is most certain; whereas certainty is indeed the 









160 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

property of our minds, or their knowledge, and not of 
the truth known. It is certain to us, that is, we have 
an assured knowledge of it by the experience we have 
of it. This is the " assurance of understanding " here 
mentioned. And he further prays that we may come to 
the rjches of this assurance; that is, to an abundant, 
plentiful assurance : and that, " to the acknowledgment 
of the mystery of God " owning it from a sense and 
experience of its excellency and worth. 

This is in the nature of all gospel-truths ; they are 
fitted to be experienced by a believing soul. There is 
nothing in them so sublime and high, nothing so mys- 
terious, nothing so seemingly low and outwardly con- 
temptible, but that a gracious soul has experience of an 
excellency, reality, power, and efficacy in it all. For 
instance, look on that which concerns the order and 
worship of the Gospel. This seems to many to be a 
mere external thing, of which a soul can have no in- 
ward sense or relish. Many notions there are about it, 
and endless contentions, but what morel Why, let a 
gracious soul, in simplicity and sincerity, give up him- 
self to walk with Christ according to his appointment, 
and he shall quickly find such a taste and relish in the 
fellowship of the Gospel, in the communion of saints, 
and of Christ amongst them, that he shall come up to 
such riches of assurance in the understanding and ac- 
knowledgment of the ways of the Lord, as others, by 
their arguing, can never attain. What is so high, glo- 
rious, and mysterious, as the doctrine of the ever 
blessed Trinity] Some wise men have thought meet to 
keep it veiled from ordinary christians ; and some have 
delivered it in such terms that nothing can be under- 
stood by them. But take a believer who has tasted 
how gracious the Lord is, in the eternal love of the Fa- 
ther, the great undertaking of the Son in the work of 
mediation and redemption, with the almighty work of 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 161 

the Spirit, creating grace and comfort in the soul, and 
has had an experience of the love, holiness, and power 
of God in them all, and he will, with more firm confi- 
dence, adhere to this mysterious truth, being led into 
it, and confirmed in it, by some few plain testimonies 
of the word, than a thousand disputers shall do, who 
only have the notion of it in their minds, Let a real 
trial come, and this will appear ; few will be found to 
sacrifice their lives on bare speculations. Experience 
will give assurance and stability. 

We have thus established the testimony now to.be 
improved. It is evident on these grounds, that there is 
great certainty in those truths of which believers have 
experience. Where they communicate their power to 
the heart, they give an unquestionable assurance of their 
truth; and when that is once realized in the soul, all 
disputes about it are put to silence. 

These things being so, let us inquire into the faith 
and experience of the saints on earth, as to what they 
know of the truth proposed for confirmation,- namely, 
that there is forgiveness with God. Let us go to some 
poor soul that now walks comfortably under the light 
of God's countenance, and say to him, Did we not know 
you some time since to be full of sadness and great 
anxiety of spirit 5 yea, sorrowful almost to death, and 
bitter in soul ] 

Answer. Yes, saith he, so it was indeed; my days 
were consumed with mourning, and my life with sor- 
row; and I walked heavily in . fear and bitterness of 
spirit all the day long. 

Why, what ailed you 1 what was the matter with you, 
seeing, as to outward things, you were at peace 1 

Answer. The law of God had laid hold of me, and 
slain me ; I found myself thereby a woful sinner, yea, 
overwhelmed with the guilt of sin. Every moment I 



162 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

expected tribulation and wrath from the hand of God : 
fr My sore ran in the night, and ceased not, and my soul 
refused comfort. " 

How is it, then, that you are thus delivered, that you 
are no more sad] Where have you found peace 1 have 
you been by any means delivered, or did your trouble 
wear off and depart of its own accord] 

Answer. Alas! no, it did not wear off of itself ; had 
I not met with an effectual remedy, I had sunk, and 
everlastingly perished. 

What course did you take 1 

Answer. I went to Him, by Jesus Christ, against 
whom I have sinned, and have found him better to me 
than I could expect, or ever should have believed, had 
not he filled my heart by communications of his Spirit. 
Instead of wrath, which I feared, and that justly, because 
I had deserved it, he said to me in Christ, u Fury is not 
in me." For a long time I could not believe it ; I 
thought it impossible that there should be mercy and 
pardon for me, or such a one as I. But he still supported 
me, sometimes by one means, sometimes by another ; 
until, taking my soul near to himself, he caused me to 
see the folly of my unbelieving heart, and the vileness 
of the hard thoughts I had of him, and that indeed there 
is with him forgiveness and plenteous redemption. This 
has taken away my sorrows, and given me quietness, 
and assurance. 

But are you sure now that this is so 1 may you not 
possibly be deceived 1 

Answer. I have not the least suspicion of any decep- 
tion or mistake in this matter. 

But how are you confirmed in this persuasion 1 

Answer. That sense of it which I have in my heart, 
that sweetness and rest which I experience, that in- 
fluence it has on my soul, that obligation I find laid on 
me by it to all thankful obedience, that relief, support 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 163 

and consolation which it has afforded me in trials, in 
the mouth of the grave and entrance of eternity, all 
answering what is declared concerning these things in 
the word, leave no reason to doubt its reality. I could 
not indeed receive it, until God was pleased to speak it 
to me. But now, let Satan do his utmost, I shall never 
cease to bear this testimony, that there is mercy and 
forgiveness with God. 

How many thousands may we find in the world, who 
have had such a seal of this truth in their hearts, that 
they can not only lay down their lives in the confirma- 
tion of it, if called thereto, but do cheerfully and tri- 
umphantly venture their eternal interests upon it. Yea, 
this is the source of all that peace, serenity of mind, 
and strong consolation, of which in this world they are 
made partakers. 

Now, this is to me, on the principles before laid down, 
an evidence great and important. God has not mani- 
fested this truth unto the saints, thus copied it out of 
his word and exemplified it in their souls, to leave them 
under any possibility of being deceived. 



CHAPTER IX. 



evidences of forgiveness — continued. 

To the evidences already adduced, we add, 
VII. God's institution of religious worship is an- 
other evidence that there is forgiveness with him. All 
the worship God has appointed to us, and all the honor 
which we thus render to his holy Majesty, rests on the 
same foundation, namely, a supposition of forgiveness ; 



164? FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

and is appointed to teach it, and assure us of it. Hence 
observe, 

1. That the general end of all divine and religious 
worship, is to raise to God a revenue of glory out of the 
creation. Such is God*s infinite self-sufficiency, that he 
stands in need of no such glory and honor. He was in 
himself no less infinitely and eternally glorious before 
the creation of any thing whatever, than he will be when 
he shall be encompassed with the praises of all the 
works of his hands. Such is his absolute perfection, that 
no honor given to him, no admiration of him, no ascrip- 
tion of glory and praise, can add anything to him. Hence, 
saith the Psalmist, "My goodness extendeth not to thee." 
Psalm 16 : 2. It doth not so reach thee, as to add unto 
thee to profit thee, as it may do the saints on earth. 
As in Job, 22 : 2, 3, and 35 : 7, " Can a man be profit- 
able unto God, as a man that is wise may be profitable 
unto himself! Is it apy pleasure to the Almighty that 
thou art righteous, or is it gain unto him that thou 
makest thy ways perfect 1 If thou be righteous, what 
rrivest thou him, or what receiveth he at thine hand 1" 
And the reason of all this the apostle gives us, " Of him, 
and through him, and to him are all things. " Rom. 11 : 36. 
Eeino- the sovereign cause and the absolute end of all 
things, every way perfect and self-suflieient, nothing 
can be added to him. Or as the same apostle speaks, 
"God that made the world, and all things therein, see- 
ing that he is Lord of heaven find earth, is not wor- 
shipped with men's hands, as though he needed any 
thing, seeing he giveth unto all life, and breath, and all 
things. Acts, 17 : 24, 25. 

2. Wherefore all the revenue of glory that God will 
receive by his worship depends merely on his own vo- 
luntary choice and appointment. All worship, I say, de- 
pends now on the sovereign will and pleasure of God. 
It is true, there is a natural worship due from rational 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 165 

creatures, by the law of their creation. This was indis- 
pensably and absolutely necessary at first. The very 
being of God, and order of things, required that it 
should be so. Supposing that God had made such 
creatures as we are, it could not be but that moral obe- 
dience was due to him : that he should be believed in, 
trusted and obeyed, as the first cause, the great end and 
sovereign Lord of all. But the entrance of sin, laying 
the sinner absolutely under the curse of God, utterly 
put an end to this order of things. Man was now to 
have perished immediately. But here, in the sovereign 
will of God, an interposition was made between sin and 
the sentence ; and man was respited from destruction. 
All worship following this, even that which was before 
natural by the law of creation, is now resolved into an 
arbitrary act of God's will. 

All worship is designed to give glory to God. For, 
as God has said that he will be sanctified in all that 
draw nigh to him, that is, in his worship, and that there- 
in he will be glorified, Lev. 10 : 3, and that he that of- 
fer eth him praise, that is, performeth any part of his 
worship and service, glorifieth him, Psalm 50 : 23 ; so 
the nature of the thinsr itself declares that it can have 
no other end. 

3. Consider, that God has not prescribed any wor- 
ship of himself to the a?igsls that sinned. They are, in- 
deed, under his power, and he useth them as he pleas- 
eth, to serve the ends of his holy providence. Bounds 
he prescribes to them by his power, and keeps them in 
dread of the full execution of his wrath; but he calls 
them not, as he does us, to repentance and faith, to the 
exercise of love, fear, delight, and all those inward affec- 
tions which are the proper worship of God. Such wor- 
ship they entirely cast off from them in their first sin. 
Now, as God dealt with the angels, so also would he have 
dealt with mankind, had he left them all under the curse 






166 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

without remedy or hope of relief. As he eternally satisfies 
himself in the revenue of glory which arises to him in 
their punishment, so also he would have done with men 
had there been no forgiveness with him for them. He 
would not have required them to fear, love or obey him, 
or have appointed to them any way of worship where- 
by to express such affections towards him. Wherefore, 

4. It is evident that God, by prescribing worship to 
sinners, fully declares that there is forgiveness with 
him for them. 

A contrary course vjould not become his infinite self- 
sufficiency, goodness and bounty. This the wife of 
Manoah well pleads : { * If the Lord were pleased to kill 
us, he would not have received a meat-offering and a 
burnt offering at our hands." Judges, 13 : 23. His ac- 
ceptance of worship from us is an infallible demonstra- 
tion that he will not execute against us the severity of 
the first curse. This is clearly shown in the first record 
of solemn instituted worship performed by sinners, 
" God had respect unto Abel and his offering." Gen. 
4 : 4-. Some think that God gave a visible pledge of 
his acceptance of Abel and his offering ; it may be, it 
was by fire from heaven ; for how else should Cain so 
instantly know that his brother and his offering were 
accepted, but that he and his were refused 1 However 
it were, it is evident that what testimony God gave of 
the acceptance of his offering, the same he gave con- 
cerning his person ; and that in the first place he had 
respect unto Abel, and then to his offering. And there- 
fore the apostle saith, that thereby he obtained " wit- 
ness that he was righteous," Heb. 11:4, that is, the 
witness or testimony of God himself. Now, this was in 
the forgiveness of his sin, without which he could nei- 
ther be righteous nor accepted, for he was a sinner. 
This God declared by acceptance of his worship. And 
thus we also, if we have any testimony of acceptance 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 167 

of us in any part of his worship, should employ it to the 
same end. Hath God enlarged our hearts in prayer % 
hath he given us an answer to any of our supplications] 
hath he refreshed our hearts in the preaching and dis- 
pensation of the word, or any other ordinance 1 We are 
not to rest in the particular about which we have been 
comm Lining with him. Our doing so is the cause why 
we lose our experiences. They lie scattered up and 
down, separated from their proper root, and so are ea- 
sily lost. But this is what we should do : improve such 
particular experiences in the worship of God to the 
confidence that God has pardoned our sins and accept- 
ed our persons ; for without trust in him, none of our 
worship or service can please him or be accepted. 

By prescribing worship, God lets us know that he 
deals with us upon new terms; so that, notwithstanding 
sin, we may enjoy his love and favor. For this we have 
the engagement of his truth, and he cannot deceive us; 
but by this command for his worship we should be de- 
ceived, if there were not forgiveness with him. For it 
gives us encouragement to expect, and assurance of 
finding acceptance with him, which without it cannot 
be obtained. This, then, God declares by his institu- 
tion of* worship, namely, that there is nothing that shall 
indispensably hinder those who give up themselves to 



' 



• 



the obedience of God's commands, from enjoying his 
love and favor, and communion with him. 

The matter of fact is known and confessed, that God 
hath appointed a worship for sinners to perform. All the 
institutions of the Old and New Testament bear witness 
hereto. God was the author of them. And men know 
not what they do when they either neglect them, or 
would be intermixing their own imaginations with 
them. What can the mind of man conceive or invent 
in his worship that may have any influence to secure to 
the souls of believers their acceptance with God] Is 



168 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

there any need of their testimony to the truth, faithful- 
ness and goodness of Godl These things he has taken 
upon himself. This, then, should be fixed on our souls, 
on our first invitation to religious worship, that God 
will have a new revenue of glory from us, and therefore 
he declares that there is a way for the removing of our 
sins, without which we can give no glory to him by our 
obedience ; and this is only by forgiveness. 

5. There are some ordinances of worship appointed for 
this very end, to confirm to us the forgiveness of sin ; 
especially in the worship instituted by the Lord Jesus 
in the new testament. 

Such is the ordinance of hapiism. This was accom- 
panied with the dawning of the Gospel in the ministry 
of John the Baptist. And he expressly declared, in his 
sermons upon it, that it was instituted of God to declare 
the remission of sins. Mark, 1 : 4. 

It is true, the Lord Christ submitted to that ordinance, 
who had no sin, and was baptized by John. But this 
belonged to the obedience which God required of him, 
as, for our sakes, he was made under the law. He was 
to observe all ordinances and institutions of the wor- 
ship of God ; not for any need he had in his own person 
of the especial ends and significations of some of them; 
yet as he was our sponsor, surety and Mediator, stand- 
ing in our stead in all that he so did, he was to yield 
obedience to them, that so he might " fulfil all righ- 
teousness." Matt. 3 : 15. So was he circumcised, so 
was he baptized; both which had respect unto sin, 
though absolutely free from all sin in his own person; 
and that because he had failed in no obedience to any 
command of God. 

But, as was said, baptism itself, as appointed to be 
an ordinance of worship for sinners to observe, was a 
declaration of that forgiveness that is with God. It was 
so in the first institution. God calls a man in a marvel- 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 169 

lous and miraculous manner , gives him a ministry from 
heaven ; commands him to go and baptize all those who, 
confessing their sins and professing repentance of them, 
should come to him to have a testimony of forgiveness. 
And as to the especial nature of this ordinance, he ap- 
points it to be such as to represent the certainty and 
truth of his grace in pardon to their senses by a visible 
pledge. He lets them know that he would take away 
their sin, wherein consists their spiritual defilement $ 
and that hereby they shall be saved, as surely as Noah 
and his family were saved in the ark swimming upon 
the waters. 1 Peter, 3 : 21. Now, how great a deceit 
must, in this whole matter, have been practised upon 
poor sinners, if it were not infallibly certain that they 
might obtain forgiveness with God. 

After the entrance of this ordinance in the ministry 
of John, the Lord Jesus Christ takes it into his own 
hand, and commands the observation of it to all his dis- 
ciples. I dispute not now who are the proper immediate 
objects of it ; but this, I say, is certain, that in prescrib- 
ing this ordinance to his church, the great attention of 
Christ was to ascertain to us the forgiveness of sins. 
And sinners are invited to a participation of this ordi- 
nance, as implying that they may receive the pardon 
of their sins. This is another engagement of the truth, 
and faithfulness, and holiness of God, so that we can- 
not be deceived in this matter. " There is," saith God, 
tf forgiveness with me;" saith the soul, " How, Lord, 
shall I know, how shall I come to be assured of it 1 for, 
by reason of the perpetual accusations of conscience, 
and the curse of the law upon the guilt of my sin, I find 
it a very hard matter for me to believe. Like Gideon, 
I would have a token of it." Why, behold, saith God, 
" I will give thee a pledge and token of it, which can- 
not deceive thee. When the world of old had been over- 
whelmed with 8 deluge of waters by reason of their 

8 



? 



Forgiveness* 






170 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

sins, and those who remained, though they had just 
cause to fear the same judgment would again befall them 
or their posterity, because they saw there was like to 
be the same cause of it, the thoughts and imaginations 
of the hearts of men being still evil, and that continual- 
ly 5 to secure them against these fears, I told them that 
I would destroy the earth no more w r ith water ; and I 
gave them a token of my faithfulness therein, by placing 
my bow in the cloud. And have I failed them 1 Though 
the sin and wickedness of the world has been, since 
that day, unspeakably great, yet mankind is not drowned 
again, nor ever shall be : I will not deceive their expec- 
tation from the token I have given them. Wherever, 
then, there is a word of promise confirmed with a token, 
never fear a disappointment. But so is this matter. I 
have declared that there is forgiveness with me; and, 
to give you assurance thereof, I have ordained this or- 
dinance as a seal of my word, to take away all suspicion 
of your being deceived. As the world shall be drowned 
no more, so neither shall they who believe come short 
of forgiveness." 

The same is the end of that other great ordinance of 
the church, the supper of the Lord. We have already 
shown the connection between gospel-forgiveness and 
the death or blood of Jesus Christ. This ordinance, 
therefore, designed and appointed on purpose for the 
representation and calling to remembrance of the death 
of Christ, with the communication of its benefits to them 
that believe, doth principally intend our faith and com- 
fort in the truth under consideration; and therefore, in 
the very institution of it, besides the general end before 
mentioned, which had been sufficient for our security, 
there is added an especial mention of the forgiveness 
of sin : for so speaks our Savior in the institution of it, 
for the use of the church to the end of the world, u This 
is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 171 

many, for the remission of sins." Matt. 26 : 28. As if 
he had said, " The end for which I have appointed the 
observance of this duty and service to you is, that I may 
testify thereby to you, that by my blood, the sacrifice 
of myself, and the atonement made thereby, I have pur- 
chased for you the remission of your sins, of which you 
shall assuredly be made partakers." 

And what is the end of all church order, assemblies 
and worship ? What is a church 1 Is it not a company 
of sinners gathered together, according to God's ap- 
pointment, to give glory and praise to him for pardon- 
ing grace, for the forgiveness of sins, and to yield him 
that obedience which he requires from us, on account 
of his having so dealt with us 1 This is the nature, this 
is the end of a church. He that understands it not, he 
that uses it not to that end, does but abuse that great 
institution. And of such abuse the world is full. Some 
endeavor to gain their own secular advantage through 
the church. Some discharge the duty required in it, 
with secret hopes that it shall be their righteousness 
before God. Some seek to hush their convictions by an 
empty profession. But the true end, the true use of 
worship is this : we assemble ourselves, to learn that 
there is forgiveness with God through Christ ; to pray 
that we may be made partakers of it ; to bless and praise 
God for our interest in it ; to engage ourselves to the 
obedience which he requires on account of it. And 
were this constantly upon our minds, and in our de- 
signs, we might be more established in the faith of it 
than it may be the most of us are. 

6. One particular instance more of this nature shall 
conclude this evidence. God hath commanded us, the 
Lord Christ hath taught us, to pray for the pardon of 
sin, which gives us unquestionable security that it may 
be attained, that it is to be found in God. One of the 
petitions which our Lord has left on record for our use, 



172 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

in that summary of all prayer which he has given us, is, 
"Forgive us our debts, our trespasses, our sins." Matt. 
6:11. Some contend that this is a form of prayer to be 
used in the prescribed words of it ; all grant that it is a 
rule of prayer, comprising the heads of all necessary 
things that we are to pray for, and obliging us to make 
supplications for them. So then, upon the authority of 
God, revealed to us by Jesus Christ, we are bound in 
duty to pray for pardon of sins, or forgiveness. 

On this supposition, it is the highest reproach of God 
to conceive that there is not forgiveness with him for 
us. Indeed, if we should undertake, without his war- 
rant and authority, to ask any thing at his hand, we 
might well expect to meet with disappointment ; for 
what should encourage us to any such boldness] But 
now, when God himself commands us to come and ask 
any thing from him, so making it our duty, and its ne- 
glect our sin against him, to suppose he has not the 
thing in his power to bestow on us, or that his will is 
wholly averse from so doing, is to reproach him with 
w r ant of truth, faithfulness and sincerity. Could God 
thus deceive and delude his creatures % 

To put this whole matter out of question, God has 
promised to hear our prayers, and in particular those 
which we make to him for the forgiveness of sin. Our 
Savior has assured us, that what we ask in his name 
shall be done for us; and has, as we have showed, 
taught us to ask this very thing of God. But I need not 
insist on particular promises to this purpose ; they are, 
as you know, multiplied in the Scriptures. 

What has been said may suffice to establish our pre- 
sent argument, namely, that God's prescribing religious 
worship to sinners undeniably proves that with him 
there is forgiveness. And the design of all this is to 
encourage poor sinners to believe, and show how inex- 
cusable they will be if, through the power of their lusts 



EVIDENCES OF FOEGIVEKESS. 173 

and unbelief, they still refuse to come to God in Christ, 
that they may be pardoned. Yea, the unfolding of this 
truth makes it plain why men perish in their sins. Is it 
for want of mercy, goodness, grace, or patience in 
God 1 . Is it through any defect in the mediation of the 
Lord Christ 1 Is it for want of the mightiest encouraflfe- 
ments and most infallible assurances that with God 
there is forgiveness 1 Not at all, but merely on account 
of their own obstinacy, stubbornness and perverseness: 
they will not come to this light; yea, they hate it, be- 
cause their deeds are evil. They will not come to 
Christ that they may have life. It is merely darkness, 
blindness, and love of sin that brings men to destruc- 
tion^ and this is laid open, and all pretences and excus- 
es are removed, and the shame of men's lusts exposed, 
by the full confirmation of this truth, with which God 
has furnished us. Take heed, you that hear or read 
these things : if they are not mixed with faith they will 
add greatly to your misery. Every argument will be 
your torment. 

Moreover, if you will consider what has been now 
said concerning the nature and end of the worship of 
God, which you attend to, you may be instructed in the 
use and due observation of it. When you address your- 
selves to it, remember that this is what God requires 
of you as sinners ; that this he would not have required, 
but with thoughts of mercy. Bless him with all your 
souls, that this is laid as the foundation of all your ap- 
proaches to him. You are not utterly cast off because 
you are sinners. Let this support and warm your hearts 
when you go to hear, to pray, or to any duty of wor- 
ship. Consider what is your principal work in the 
whole. You are going to deal with God about forgiye- 
ness, in the being, causes, consequences and effects cf 
it. Hearken to what he speaks, declares or reveals 
about it , mix his revelation and promises with faith. 



174« FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

Inquire diligently into all the obedience and thankful- 
ness, all those duties of holiness and righteousness 
which he justly expects from those who are made par- 
takers of it 5 so shall you observe the worship of God 
to his glory and your own advantage. 

VIII. Another evidence of forgiveness with God may 
be taken from the making, establishing and ratifying of 
the new covenant. That God would make a new cov- 
enant with his people, is often promised. See, among 
other places, Jer. 31 : 31, 32; and that he has done so 
the apostle shows at large, Heb. 8 : 9-12. Now, herein 
sundry things to our present purpose may be considered. 

1. It is supposed that God had before made another 
covenant with mankind. With reference to that which 
was before it, and which in comparison is called old, 
this is said to be new, as the apostle speaks expressly 
in the place cited. Now, a covenant between God and 
man is a thing great and marvellous, whether we con- 
sider the nature of it, or the ends of it : in its own 
nature, it is a convention, compact and agreement, for 
some certain ends and purposes, between the holy 
Creator and his poor creatures. How infinite, how un- 
speakable must be the grace and condescension of God 
in this matter ! For what is poor miserable man, that 
God should set his heart upon him, that he should, as it 
were, give bounds to his sovereignty over him, and enter 
into terms of agreement with him ! For, whereas be- 
fore, he was a mere object of his absolute dominion, 
made at his will, and for his pleasure, and for the same 
reasons to be crushed at any time into nothing ; now 
he has a foundation and ground given him to stand upon, 
expecting good things from God on account of his faith- 
fulness and righteousness. God, in a covenant, gives 
those holy properties of his nature to his creatures, 
as his hand or arm, for them to lay hold of, and by 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 175 

them to plead and argue with him. And without this a 
man could have no foundation for any intercourse or 
communion with God, or for any expectation from him, 
or any direction how to deal with him in any of his con- 
cerns. Great and signal, then, was the condescension of 
God, to take his poor creature into covenant with him- 
self. And especially will this be manifest, if we consider 
the ends of it, and why it is that God thus deals with 
man. These are no other, than that man might serve 
him aright, be blessed by him, and be brought to the 
everlasting enjoyment of him, all to his glory. These 
are the ends of every covenant that God takes us into 
with himself; and these are the whole of man. No more 
is required of us in a way of duty ; no more can be re- 
quired by us to make us blessed and happy, than what 
is contained in them. That we might live to God, be 
accepted with him, and come to the eternal fruition of 
him, is the whole of man , all that we were made for, 
or are capable of 5 and these are the ends of every cov- 
enant that God makes with man, being all comprised in 
the solemn declaration that " he will be their God, and 
they shall be his people." 

2. This being the nature, this the end of a covenant, 
there must be some great and important cause to induce 
God to change, alter and abrogate a covenant once 
made and established ; to lay aside one covenant and to 
enter into another. And yet this the apostle says ex- 
pressly that God had done, Heb. 8 : 13, and proves it, 
because Himself calls that which he promised a new 
covenant ; which undeniably confirms two things : first, 
That the other was become old ; and, secondly, That 
being become so, it was changed, altered, and removed. 

The first covenant was good, holy and righteous. It 
was such as it became God to make, and as it was every 
way the happiness of the creature to accept. We need 
no other argument to prove it to have been holy and 



176 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

good, than that God made it. It was the effect of infi- 
nite holiness, wisdom, righteousness, goodness, and 
grace ; and therefore in itself was every way perfect ; 
for so are all the works of God. Besides, it was such that 
man, when through his own fault he cannot obtain any 
good by it, and must perish everlastingly by its curse, 
yet cannot but subscribe to its righteousness and ho- 
liness. The tenor of it is contained in the law, and saith 
the apostle, whatever becomes of the sin and the sinner, 
" the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and 
just, and good." Eom. 7 : 12. Holy in itself, as being 
the order and constitution of the most holy God. Just 
and equal with reference to us; such as we have no 
reason to complain of or to repine against 5 and the 
terms of it are most righteous. It is good, and, not- 
withstanding the appearance of rigor and severity 
with which it is accompanied, had in it an exceeding 
mixture of goodness and grace, both in the obedience 
required in it, and the reward annexed to it. 

In particular, it was good, holy, and righteous, in all 
its commands, in the obedience it required. Its precepts 
were all suited to the principles of the nature of man 
as created by God, in acting according to which con- 
sisted his perfection. God in the first covenant required 
nothing of man, prescribed nothing to man, but what 
there was a principle for his doing it ingrafted and im- 
planted in his nature ; which rendered all those com- 
mands equal, holy, and good. And further, all its com- 
mands were proportionate to the strength and ability 
of those to whom they were given. God, in that cove- 
nant, required nothing of any man but what he had be- 
fore enabled him to perform ; nothing above his strength 
or beyond his power ; and thence was it righteous. It 
was also exceeding good, in respect to its promises and 
rewards. Do this, saith the covenant ; this which thou 
art able to do, which the principles of thy nature are fit- 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 177 

ted for, and inclined to. Well, what shall be the result 1 
Why, do this and live ; life is promised to obedience, 
and that such a life as, both for the present and future 
condition of the creature, was accompanied with every 
thing needful to make it blessed and happy. Yea, this 
life having in it the eternal enjoyment of God, God him- 
self, as a reward, was exceedingly above whatever the 
obedience of man could require as due, or have any 
reason to expect, on any other account, but merely of 
his goodness. 

There was provision in that covenant for the preserva- 
tion and manifestation of the glory of God, whatever was 
the event on the part of man. This was provided for in 
the wisdom and righteousness of God. Did man con- 
tinue in his obedience, and fulfil the terms of the cove- 
nant 1 all things were laid in subserviency to the eter- 
nal glory of God in his reward. In this would he for 
ever have manifested and exalted the glory of his holi- 
ness, power, faithfulness, righteousness, and goodness. 
As an almighty Creator and Preserver, as a faithful God 
and righteous Rewarder, would he have been glorified. 
On supposition, on the other hand, that man by sin and 
rebellion should transgress the terms and tenor of this 
covenant, yet God had made provision that no detri- 
ment to his glory should ensue. For by constituting a 
punishment proportionable in his justice to that sin and 
demerit, he had provided that the glory of his holiness, 
righteousness, and veracity in his threatenings, should 
be exalted, and that to all eternity. God would have 
lost no more glory and honor by the sin of man than 
by the sin of angels, which in his infinite wisdom and 
righteousness is become a great theatre of his eternal 
glory. For he is no less excellent in his greatness and 
severity, than in his goodness and power. 

Wherefore, we may now return to our former inquiry. 
All things being thus excellently and admirably dis- 

8* 



178 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

posed of in infinite wisdom and holiness in this cove- 
nant, the whole duty and blessedness of man being fully 
provided for, and the glory of God secured at all events, 
what was the reason that God left not all things thus 
to stand or fall ! Wherefore doth he reject and lay aside 
this covenant, and promise to make another 1 Certain 
it is, that he might have continued it with a blessed 
security to his own glory ; and he makes " all things for 
himself, even the wicked for the day of evil." 
< God himself shows what was the sole reason of this 
dispensation. Heb. 8 : 7-13. The sum of it is this : not- 
withstanding the blessed constitution of the first cove- 
nant, there was no provision for the pardon of sin, no 
room or place for forgiveness in it ; but on supposition 
that man sinned, he was in that covenant left remedi- 
less. God had not in it revealed that there was any such 
thing as forgiveness with him ; nor had any sinner the 
least grounds of expectation of any such thing. Die he 
must, and that without remedy. Now, saith God, this 
must not be. Mercy, goodness and grace require an- 
other state of things ; and therefore I will make another 
covenant with them, by which they shall know and 
find that there is forgiveness with me, that they may 
fear me. 

Now, next to the blood of Christ, whereby this cove- 
nant was ratified and confirmed, this is the greatest evi- 
dence that can possibly be given, that there is forgive- 
ness with God. To what end else does God make this 
great alteration in the effects of his will, in his way of 
dealing with mankind] As forgiveness of sin is express- 
ly contained in the tenor of the covenant, so, set it aside, 
and it will be of no more use or advantage than the 
former. For, as this covenant is made directly with 
sinners, (nor was there any one in the world when God 
made it, that was not a sinner ; nor is it of use to any 
but sinners,) so is forgiveness of sins the very life of it. 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 179 

Hence we may see two things: first, the greatness of 
forgiveness, that we may learn to value it 5 and, se- 
condly, the certainty of it, that we may learn to be- 
lieve it. 

1. The greatness of it. God would not do so great a 
thing as that mentioned, but for a great end. Had it not 
been of the greatest importance to the glory of God 
and the good of the souls of men, Gcd would not, for 
the sake of it, have laid aside one covenant and made 
another. We may evidently see how the heart of God 
was set upon it, how his nature and will were engaged 
in it. All this was done that we might be pardoned. 
The old glorious fabric of obedience and rewards is le- 
velled to the ground, that a new one may be erected 
for the honor and glory of forgiveness. God forbid that 
we should have slight thoughts of that which was so 
strangely and wonderfully produced, in which God as 
it were embarked his great glory. Shall all this be done 
for our sakes, and shall we undervalue it 1 God forbid. 
God could, if I may so say, more easily have made a 
new world of innocent creatures, and have governed 
them by the old covenant, than have established this 
new one for the salvation of poor sinners; but then 
where had been the glory of forgiveness 1 It could never 
have been known that there was forgiveness with him. 
The old covenant could not have been preserved and 
sinners pardoned. Wherefore, God chose rather to leave 
the covenant than that sinners should be unrelieved, 
grace unexalted, and pardon unexercised. Prize it as 
you prize your souls, and give glory to God for it, as 
all those that believe will do unto eternity. 

2. Consider the security of this covenant, that we 
may believe it. What greater can be given 1 God de- 
ceiveth no man, any more than he is deceived. And 
what could God, that cannot lie, do more, to give us 
satisfaction herein, than he has done] Would you be 



180 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

made partakers of this forgiveness 1 Go to God, spread 
before him this whole matter, plead with him that he 
himself has so far laid aside the first covenant of his 
own gracious will as to make a new one ; and that 
merely because it had no forgiveness in it. This he has 
made on purpose that it might be known that there is 
forgiveness in him. And shall not we now be made par- 
takers of it 1 Will he now deny that to us, of which he 
has given such assurances 1 Nothing can here wrong us, 
nothing can ruin us, but unbelief. Lay hold on this cov- 
enant, and we shall have pardon. This God expresses, 
Isaiah, 27 : 4, 5. Shall we continue on the old ground 
of the first covenant! All that we can do thereon is 
but to set thorns and briars in the way of God, to se- 
cure ourselves from his coming against us with his in- 
dignation and fury. Our sins do but this, and our righ- 
teousness is no better. And what will be the issue 1 both 
they and we shall be trodden down, consumed, and 
burnt up. What way then, what remedy is left to us % 
Only this, of laying hold on the arm and strength of 
God in that covenant in which forgiveness of sin is 
provided. In this alone he saith, " Fury is not in me 5" 
and the end will be that we shall have peace with him 
both here and for ever. 

IX. The oath of God, engaged and interposed in 
this matter, is another evidence of the truth of for- 
giveness. But as this is annexed to the new covenant 
just considered, I shall pass it over the more briefly. 
We may consider, 

1. The nature of the oath of God. The apostle tells 
us that he sware by himself; and he gives this reason 
of it, because he could swear by no greater. Heb. 6 : 13. 
An oath for the confirmation of any thing is an invoca- 
tion of a supreme power that can judge of the truth 
that is spoken, and vindicate the breach of the engage- 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 181 

ment. God, "because he could swear by no greater, 
sware by himself." God does this by express affirma- 
tion that he has so sworn by himself, which was the 
form of the first solemn oath of God, " By myself have 
I sworn, saith the Lord." Gen. 22 : 16. The meaning of 
which is, "I have taken it upon myself, as I am God; 
or let me not be so if I perform not this thing." " The 
Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself." Jer. 51 : 14. God 
also does this by the especial interposition of some 
such property of his nature as is suited to give credit 
and confirmation to the word spoken ; as of his holi- 
ness, "I have sworn by my holiness." Psalm 89:35, 
So also Amos, 4 : 2. Sometimes by his life : " As I live," 
saith the Lord. In the Hebrew, "I live," saith God, it 
shall be so. And sometimes by his name, Jer. 44:2-6. 
God, as it were, engages the honor and glory of the 
properties of his nature for the certain accomplish- 
ment of the things mentioned. This is evident from 
the manner of the expression, as in Psalm 89 : 35. 
" Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not 
lie unto David." 

2. The end or design of his oath. God doth not give 
it to make his word or promise steadfast, but to give 
assurance and security to us of their accomplishment. 
Every word of God is sure and certain truth itself, be- 
cause it is his ; and he might justly require of us the 
belief of it, without any further attestation. But yet, 
knowing what great objections Satan and our own un- 
believing hearts will raise against his promises, at 
least as to our own interest in them, to confirm our 
minds, and to take away all pretence of unbelief, he 
interposes his oath in this matter. What can remain 
of distrust in such a case 1 If there be a matter in 
doubt between men, and an oath be interposed in the 
confirmation of what is called in question, it is to them, 
as the apostle tells us, an end of all strife. Heb. 6 : 16. 



182 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

How much more ought it to be so in respect to God, 
when his oath is engaged ! And the apostle declares 
this end of his oath, it is to show the immutability of 
his counsel. Heb. 6 : IT. His counsel was declared be- 
fore in the promise ; but now some doubt may arise 
whether, on one occasion or other, God may not change 
his counsel; or whether he has not changed it, with 
such conditions as to render it useless to us. In what 
case soever it be, to remove all doubts and suspicions 
of this nature, God adds his oath, manifesting the un- 
questionable immutability of his counsel and promises. 
What, therefore, is thus confirmed, is ascertained to the 
height of what any thing is capable of 5 and not to be- 
lieve it is the height of impiety. 

3. In this interposition of God by an oath there is un- 
unspeakable condescension of grace, which is both a great 
motive to faith, and a great aggravation of unbelief. For 
what are we, that the holy and blessed God should thus 
condescend, for our satisfaction and surety, to engage 
himself by an oath! It is an inestimable advantage that 
God should, for our sakes, engage himself by his oath. 
So it will be our misery, if we believe him not when he 
swears to us. What can we now object against what is 
thus confirmed X What pretence or excuse can we have 
for unbelief! How just, how righteous, how holy is God 
in the destruction of those who, upon this strange, won- 
derful and unexpected warrant, refuse to set to their 
seal that God is true. 

These things being premised, we may consider how 
variously God has engaged his oath that there is for- 
giveness with him. He sweareth that he hath no plea- 
sure in the death of a sinner, but rather that he repent 
and live : " As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure 
in the death of a sinner." Ezek. 33 : 11. Now, without 
forgiveness in him, every sinner must die, and that with- 
out remedy. Confirming, therefore, with his oath, that 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 183 

it is his will the sinner should return, repent, and live, 
he, in the first place, swears by himself, that there is 
forgiveness with him for those sinners that shall so re- 
pent and turn to him. 

Again, whereas the great means he has appointed for 
the forgiveness of sin is by the mediation of the Lord 
Christ, as we shall afterwards show, he hath, on several 
occasions, confirmed his purpose in him, and the counsel 
of his will by his oath. By this oath he promised him 
to Abraham and David of old, which proved the founda- 
tion of the church's stability in all generations ; and also 
of their security and assurance of acceptance with him 5 
see Luke, 1 : 73-75. And in his taking upon him that 
office, whereby, in an especial manner, the forgiveness 
of sins was to be procured, namely, of his being a Priest 
to offer sacrifice, to make an atonement for sinners, he 
confirmed it to him, and him in it, by his oath: "He 
was not made a priest without an oath." Heb. 7 : 20. 
And to what end 1 namely, that he might be a " surety 
of a better testament," ver. 22. And what was that 
"better testament!" Why, that which brought along 
with it the forgiveness of sin, chap. 8 : 12, 13. So that 
it was forgiveness which was so confirmed by the oath 
of God. Further, the apostle shows that the great origi- 
nal promise made to Abraham being confirmed by the 
oath of God, all his other promises were in like manner 
confirmed. Whence he draws that blessed conclusion 
which we have, Heb. 6 : 17, 18. As to every one, saith 
he, that "flies for refuge to the hope that is set before 
him," that is, who seeks to escape the guilt of sin, the 
curse and sentence of the law, by applying himself to 
God in Christ for pardon, he has the oath of God to se- 
cure him that he shall not fail. Thus does the oath of 
God testify to the forgiveness of sin ; which we have 
shown to be the highest security on this point that God 
can give, or that we are capable of receiving. 



184 FORGIVENESS OF SIN, 



CHAPTER X. 

evide2n t ces of fokgiveness — continued. 

X. Another foundation and infallible evidence of the 
truth, that there is forgiveness with God, may be taken 
from that especial name and title which He takes to 
himself; he owns the name of the "God of fardons," 
or the " God of forgiveness." So is he called, Neh. 
9: 17, where we have rendered the words, " Thou art a 
God ready to forgive ;" but they are, as was said, in the 
Hebrew, "And thou art a God of pardons," forgive- 
ness, or propitiations. This is his name, which he owns, 
of which he accepts the ascription to himself; the name 
whereby he will be known. And here let us consider 
how God manifests himself to us by his name. 

1. The name of God is that whereby he reveals hi?n- 
self to us, whereby he would have us know him and 
own him. It is something expressive of his nature or 
properties, which he has appropriated to himself. What- 
ever, therefore, any name of God expresses him to be, 
that he is, that we may expect to find him ; for he will 
not deceive us by giving himself a wrong or a false 
name. And on this account he requires us to trust in 
his name, because he will assuredly be found to us what 
his name imports. Resting on his name, flying to his 
name, calling upon his name, praising his name, things 
so often mentioned in the Scripture, confirm the same 
to us. These things could not be our duty, if we might 
be deceived in so doing. God is and will be to us 
what his name declares. 

2. On this ground, then, God is said to be known by 
any name, when those to whom he reveals himself do y 
in an especial manner, rest on that name by faith, and 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 185 

have that accomplished towards them which that name 
imports. God did not, under the Old Testament, reveal 
himself to any by the name of the t: Father of Jesus 
Christ," or the " Son incarnate," because the grace of 
it was not to be accomplished to them, tr God having 
provided some better thing for us, that they without us 
should not be made perfect j" they were not entrusted 
with the full revelation of God by all his blessed 
names. Neither doth God call us to trust in any name 
of his, however declared or revealed, unless he gives it 
us in an especial manner, by way of covenant, to rest 
upon. 

So he speaks, Exod. 6:3. "I appeared unto Abra- 
ham, unto Isaac, and to Jacob, in the name of God 
Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known 
unto them." It is certain that both these names of 
God, El-shaddai and Jehovah, were known among his 
people before. In the first mention we have of Abra- 
ham's addressing himself to the worship of God, he 
makes use of the name Jehovah, " He built an altar un- 
to Jehovah," Gen. 12 : 7, and so afterwards, not only 
does Moses make use of that name in the repetition of 
the story, but it was also of frequent use among them. 
Whence, then, is it said that God appeared to them by 
the name of El-shaddai, but not by the name of Je- 
hovah 1 The reason is, because that was the name 
which God gave himself in the solemn confirmation of 
the covenant with Abraham. Gen. 17 : 1. u I am El- 
shaddai, God Almighty," God All-sufficient. And when 
Isaac would pray for the blessing of the covenant on 
Jacob, he makes use of that name, " God Almighty 
bless thee." Gen. 28 : 3. He invokes that name of God 
which was engaged in the covenant made with his 
father Abraham and himself. That therefore we may, 
with full assurance, rest on the name of God, it is not 
only necessary that God reveal that name to be his, but 



186 FORGIVENESS OF £IN. 

also that he give it out to us for the end and purpose, 
that we may know him thereby, and place our trust and 
confidence in him, according to what that name im- 
ports. And this was the case wherever he revealed him- 
self to any in a peculiar manner, by an especial name. 

So he did to Jacob, ct I am the God of Abraham and 
Isaac," Gen. 28 : 13; assuring him, that as he had 
dealt faithfully in his covenant with his fathers Abra- 
ham and Isaac, so also he would deal with him : and, 
Gen. 31 : 13, " I am the God of Bethel;" he who ap- 
peared to thee there, and blessed thee, and will con- 
tinue so to do. But when the same Jacob comes to 
ask after another name of God, he answers him not ; 
as it were commanding him to live by faith on what he 
was pleased to reveal. Now, then, God had not made 
himself known to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, by 
his name Jehovah, because he had not peculiarly called 
himself to them by that name ; nor engaged it in his 
covenant with them, although it were otherwise known 
to them. They lived and rested on the name o£ God 
Almighty, as suited to their support and consolation in 
their wandering, helpless condition, before the promise 
was to be accomplished: but now, when God came to 
fulfil his promises, and to bring the people, by virtue of 
his covenant, into the land of Canaan, he reveals him- 
self to them by, and renews his covenant with them in 
the name of Jehovah. And hereby God declared that 
he came to give stability and accomplishment to his 
promises ; to which end they were now to live upon 
this name of Jehovah, in an expectation of the fulfilling 
of the promises, as their fathers did on that of God 
Almighty, in an expectation of protection from him in 
their wandering state. 

Hence this name became the foundation of the Jew- 
ish church, and the ground of the faith of those who sin- 
cerely believed in God. And it is strangely fallen out 



EVIDENCES OP FORGIVENESS. 187 

in the providence of God, that since the Jews have re- 
jected the covenant of their fathers, and are cast out of 
the covenant for their unbelief, they have shunned that 
name of God. I know themselves and others pretend 
strange mysteries in the letters and vowels of that name, 
which make it ineffable. But the truth is, being cast 
out of that covenant, which was built and established 
on that name, in the just judgment of God, through 
their own blindness and superstition, they are no more 
able to make mention of it. It is required, then, that 
the name of God be given to us as engaged in cove- 
nant, to secure our expectation that he will be to us 
according to his name. 

3. The whole gracious name of God, every title that 
he hath given himself, every ascription of honor to him- 
self that he has owned, is confirmed to us (to as many 
as believe) in Jesus Christ. For as he hath declared to 
us the whole name of God, John, 17 : 6, so not this or 
that promise of God, but " all the promises of God are, 
in him, yea and amen." So that as of old every particu- 
lar promise that God made to the people served especi- 
ally for the particular occasion on which it was given, 
and each name of God w T as to be rested on as to that 
dispensation under which it was suited to give re- 
lief and confidence ; as the name of El-shaddai to Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob/ and the name Jehovah to Moses 
and the people 5 so now, by Jesus Christ, and in him, 
every particular promise belongs to believers in all their 
circumstances ) and every name of God whatever is 
theirs, at all times, to rest upon, and put their trust in. 
Thus the particular promise made to Joshua, at his en- 
trance into Canaan, to encourage and strengthen him in 
the great enterprise of conquering the land, is by the 
apostle applied to all believers, in all their occasions 
whatever : " I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." 
Heb. 13 : 5. So likewise doth every name of God be» 



'. 






188 



FORGIVENESS C? SIN, 



long now to us, as if it had in a particular manner been 
engaged in covenant to us; and that because the whole 
covenant is ratified and confirmed to us by Jesus Christ. 
2- Cor. 6 : 18 ; 7: 1. This, then, absolutely secures to 
us an interest in the name of God, the God of forgive- 
ness, as if it had been given to every one of us to assure 
us of this. 

4. God takes this name, ihe God of forgiveness ^ to be 
his in a peculiar manner, as that whereby he will be 
known. He appropriates it to himself, as expressing that 
which the power and go.odness of no other can extend 
to. " There are lords many, and gods many," saith the 
apostle ; some that are called so ; such as some account 
so to be. How is the true God distinguished from these 
godsl He is so by this name, he is the " God of par- 
dons." Micah, 7 : 18. "Who is a God like unto thee, 
that pardoneth iniquity 1" This is his perogative; here- 
in none is equal to him, like to him, or a sharer with 
him. Who is a God like unto thee, that may be called 
a "God of pardons 1" The vanities of the nations can- 
not give them this rain; they have no refreshing 
showers of mercy and pardon in their power. Neither 
angels, nor saints, nor images, nor popes, can pardon 
sin. By this name doth he distinguish himself from 
them all. 

5. To be known by this name, is the great glory of 
God in this world. When Moses desired to see the 
glory of God, the Lord told him, "that he could not 
see his face." Exod. 33 : 18-20. The face of God, or 
the glorious majesty of his being, his essential glory, 
is not to be seen by any in this life ; we cannot see him 
as he is. But the glorious manifestation of himself we 
may behold and contemplate. This we may see as the 
back parts of God ; that shadow of his excellences which 
he casteth forth in passing by us in his works and dis- 
pensations. This Moses shall see. And wherein did it 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 189 

consist 1 Why, in the revelation and declaration of this 
name of God, ft The Lord passed by before him, and 
proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gra- 
cious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and 
truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, 
transgression, and sin," chap. 34 : 6, 7. To be known 
by this name, to be honored, feared, believed, as that 
declares him, is the great glory of God. And shall this 
fail us 1 Can we be deceived in trusting in it, or in ex- 
pecting that we shall find him to be what his name de- 
clares 1 God forbid. 

Let us lay together these considerations, and we shall 
find that they will give us another stable foundation of 
the truth insisted on ; and a great encouragement to 
poor sinful souls to draw nigh to God in Christ for par- 
don. God hath no name but what he gives unto him- 
self. Nor is it lawful to know him or call him other- 
wise ; as he calls himself, so is he. What his name im- 
ports, so is his nature. Every name, also, of God is en- 
gaged in Jesus Christ in the covenant, and is proposed 
to us to place our trust and confidence in. Now this is 
his name and his memorial, even the God of forgive- 
ness. By this he distinguishes himself from all others, 
and expresses it as the principal title of his honor, or 
his peculiar glory. According to this name, therefore, 
all that believe shall assuredly find "there is forgiveness 
with him." 

XL The consideration of the essential properties of 
the nature of God, and what is required to the mani- 
festation of them, will afford us further assurance of 
his forgiveness. And here we observe, 

1. God being absolutely perfect and absolutely self- 
sufficient, was eternally glorious, and satisfied in his own 
holy excellences and perfections, before, and without 
the creation of any thing, by the exercise of his al- 



190 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

mighty power. The making, therefore, of all things 
depends on a mere sovereign act of the will and pleasure 
of God. So the whole creation makes its acknowledg- 
ment, " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, ho- 
nor and power ; for thou hast created all things, and for 
thy pleasure they are and were created." Rev. 4: 11 ; 
5 : 12. God could have omitted all this great work with- 
out the least impeachment of his glory. Not one holy 
property of his nature would have been diminished in 
its eternal glory by that omission. This then depended 
on a pure act of his will and choice. 

2. On supposition that God would work, — by his 
power produce any thing without himself, — it was ab- 
solutely necessary that himself 'should be the end of his 
so doing. For, as before the production of all things 
there was nothing that could be the end why any of 
them should be brought forth out of nothing, or towards 
which they should be disposed; so God being an infi- 
nite agent, in wisdom, and understanding, and power, 
he could have no end in his actings but that also which 
is infinite. It is therefore natural and necessary to God 
to do all things for himself. It is impossible he should 
have any other end ; and he hath done so accordingly. 
"The Lord hath made all things for himself." Prov, 
16:4. He aimed at himself in all that he did; there 
being no other infinite good for him to make his object 
and end but himself alone. 

3. This doing things, all things, for himself, cannot 
intend an addition thereby of any new real good unto 
himself; his absolute eternal perfection and all-suffi- 
ciency render this impossible. God doth not become 
more powerful, great, wise, just, holy, good or gracious, 
by any of his works ; he can add nothing to himself. It 
must therefore be the manifestation and declaration of 
the holy properties of his nature that he intends in his 
works. In order to this two things are requisite : 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 191 

That he make them known: that by ways suited to his 
infinite wisdom he both declare that such properties be- 
long to him, and what is their nature as far as the crea- 
ture is able to apprehend it. He works to make known 
his power, to declare his name through the earth. Rom. 
9 : 17-22. So it is said, that by the works of creation 
"that which may be known of God" is made manifest. 
Rom. 1 : 19, 20. And what is that % Even the natural 
essential properties of his being; his "eternal power 
and Godhead." To this head are referred all those pro- 
mises of God that he would glorify himself, and the 
prayers of his saints that he would do so, and the at- 
testations in the Scripture that he hath done so. He 
hath made known his wisdom, holiness, power, goodness, 
self-sufficiency, and similar perfections of his nature. 
He must also 

Obtain an ascription of praise and glory to himself up- 
on their account. His design is to be "admired in all 
them that believe," 2 Thess. 1:10; that is, that with an 
apprehension of his excellences, and as he hath revealed 
them, they should admire, adore, glorify and praise him, 
worship, believe in and trust him in all things, and seek 
the enjoyment of him as an eternal reward. 

Even the inanimate and the animal creation ascribe 
unto God the glory of his properties, by what they are 
and do. By what they are, and their obeying the law of 
their nature, they give unto God the glory of that wis- 
dom and power whereby they are made, and of that 
sovereignty whereon they depend. Hence nothing more 
frequent in the praises of God of old than the calling of 
the inanimate creatures, heaven and earth, winds, storms, 
thundef, and the beasts of the field, to give praise and 
glory to God : that is, by what they are they do so, in- 
asmuch as from the impression of God's glorious excel- 
lences upon them they are made manifest. 

Involuntary praise is also rendered by some rational 



192 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

creatures. Sinning men and angels have no design, no 
will, no desire to give glory to God. They do their ut- 
most to the contrary, to reproach and blaspheme him. 
But they cannot cast ofFthe yoke of God in their minds 
and consciences ; they are forced, and shall be for ever, 
to acknowledge that God is infinitely holy, infinitely 
wise, powerful and righteous. And he has the glory of 
all these properties from them in their very desires that 
he were otherwise. When they would that God were 
not just to punish them, powerful to torment them, wise 
to find them out, holy to be displeased with their lusts 
and sins, they do at the same time, in the same thing, 
own, acknowledge, and give unto God the glory of his 
being, justice, wisdom, power and holiness. When, 
therefore, God has made known his properties, the 
ascription of glory unto him on their account is, to ra- 
tional creatures, natural and unavoidable. 

A voluntary praise is also rendered in the reasonable 
service, worship, fear, trust, obedience of angels and 
men. God having revealed unto them the properties of 
his nature, they acknowledge and adore them, and place 
their confidence in them, and thereby glorify him as God. 
We do this in making the excellences of God, revealed 
unto us, the principle and chief object of all the moral 
actings of our souls, and of all the actings of our affec- 
tions. To fear the Lord and his goodness, and to fear 
him for his goodness ; to trust in his power and faith- 
fulness, to obey his authority, to delight in his will and 
grace, to love him above all, because of his excellences 
and beauty, this is to glorify him. Why do we pray and 
long for the accomplishment of the promises of God to- 
wards his saints, and of his threatenings towards*his en- 
emies, for the fulfilling of the glorious works of his pow- 
er and grace that yet remain to be done, for the coming 
of the kingdom of Christ, for the approach of glory 1 Is 
it not chiefly and principally that the glorious excellen- 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 193 

ces of God's nature may be made more manifest, be 
more known, more exalted ; that God may appear more 
as he is, and as he hath declared himself to be 1 This is 
to give glory to God. So likewise, our joy, rejoicing, 
and satisfaction, in any of the ways and works of God, 
are solely on this account, that in them God, in his pow- 
er, wisdom, holiness, is made known. We glorify him 
in our joint actual celebration of his praises; which, as 
it is a duty of the greatest importance, and to which we 
are most frequently exhorted, so in its nature it consists 
in a believing, rejoicing expression of what God is, and 
what he doeth ; that is, our admiring, adoring, and bless- 
ing him, because of his holiness, goodness, and the rest 
of his properties, and his works of grace and power suita- 
ble to them. This it is to praise God, Rev. 5 : 12, 13. 

4. Observe, that none of these properties of God can 
be thus manifested and known, nor himself be glorified 
for them, but by his declaration of them, and by their ef- 
fects. We know no more of God than he is pleased to 
reveal unto us. I mean not mere revelation by his word, 
but by any ways or means, whether by his word, or by 
his works, or by impressions from the law of nature up- 
on our hearts and minds. And whatever God thus de- 
clares of himself, he does it by exercising and manifest- 
ing the effects of it. So we know his power, wisdom, 
goodness and grace, by their effects, or the works of 
God that proceed from them, and are suited to them. 
And whatever is in God that is not thus made known, 
we cannot apprehend, nor glorify God on account of it, 
God therefore doing all things, as hath been showed, 
for the glory of these his properties, he doth so reveal 
them and make them known. 

5. Upon this design of God, it is necessary that he 
should reveal and make known all the attributes and 
properties of his nature, in works and effects peculiarly 
proceeding from them, and answering unto them, that 

Forgiveness. » 



19 i FORGIVENESS OF SIX. 

he might be glorified in them ; and which, as the event 
manifests, he hath done accordingly. For what reason 
can be imagined why God will be glorified in one essen- 
tial excellency of his nature and not in another] Espe- 
cially must this be affirmed of those properties of the 
nature of God which the event manifests his principal 
glory to consist in and arise from, and the knowledge 
of which is of the greatest benefit to the children o^ 
men, in reference to his design towards them. 

6. These things being so, let us consider how T it stands 
in reference to that which is under consideration. God, 
in the creation of all things, glorified or manifested his 
greatness, power, wisdom and goodness, with many 
other of his attributes. But his sovereignty, righteous- 
ness and holiness, how are they declared hereby 1 
Either not at all, or not in so evident a manner as is ne- 
cessary, that he might be fully glorified in them, or for 
them. What then doth he do] Leave them in darkness, 
veiled, undiscovered, satisfying himself in the glory of 
those properties which his work of creation had made 
known 1 Was there any reason why he should do so, since 
he designed to do all things for himself, and for his own 
glory 1 No ; here he gave his holy law as a rule of obe- 
dience to men and angels. This plainly reveals his so- 
vereignty or authority over them, his holiness and righ- 
teousness in the equity and purity of things he required 
of them 5 so that in and by these properties also he may 
be glorified. As he made all things for himself, that is, 
for the manifestation of his greatness, power, wisdom 
and goodness, so he gave the law for himself, that is, 
for the manifestation of his authority, holiness and righ- 
teousness. But is this all] Is there not remunerative 
justice in God, in a way of bounty 1 Is there not vindic- 
tive justice in him, in a way of severity 1 There is so, 
and in the pursuit of the design mentioned they also 
are to be manifested, or God will not be glorified in them 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 195 

This, therefore, he did also in the rewards and punish- 
ments that he annexed unto the law of obedience that he 
had prescribed. To manifest his remunerative justice, 
he promised a reward in a way of bounty, of which the 
angels that sinned not were made partakers ; and in the 
penalty threatened, which sinning angels and men incur- 
red, he revealed his vindictive justice in a way of se- 
verity. So are all these properties of God made known 
by their effects, and so is God glorified in them. 

But after all this, are there no other properties of his 
nature, divine excellences, that cannot be separated from 
his being, which by none of these means are so much 
as once intimated to be in him 1 It is evident that there 
are ; such are mercy, grace, patience, long-suffering, 
compassion, and the like : concerning which, observe, 

That where there are no objects of them, they cannot 
be declared or exercised. As God's power or wisdom 
could not be manifest if there were no objects of them, 
no more can his grace or mercy. If none ever stand in 
need of them, they can never be exercised, and conse- 
quently never be known. Therefore they are not reveal- 
ed, either by the creation of all things, or by the law 
or its sanction, or by the law written in our hearts. 
For all these suppose no objects of grace and mercy. It 
is sinners only, and such as have made themselves miser- 
able by sin, towards whom they can be exercised. 

Again, there are no excellences of God's nature more 
expressive of divine goodness, loveliness and beauty, 
than these of mercy, grace, long-suffering and pa- 
tience ; and therefore there is nothing in which God so 
requires our likeness to him, in our conformity to his 
image, as in these, namely, mercy, grace and readiness 
to forgive : and the contrary frame in any he doth of all 
things most abhor: " They shall have judgment with- 
out mercy, who showed no mercy." Therefore it is 
certain that God will be glorified in the manifestation 
of these properties of his nature. 



196 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

And farther, these properties can be no otherwise ex- 
ercised, and consequently no otherwise known, but 
only in and by the pardon of sin ; which puts it beyond 
all question that there is forgiveness with God. God 
will not lose the glory of these his excellences ; he will 
be revealed in them, he will be known by them, he will 
be glorified for them ; which he could not be, if there 
were not forgiveness with him ; so that here comes in, 
not only the truth, but also the necessity of forgiveness. 

XII. We proceed to that evidence of forgiveness 
with God, which is the centre in which all the lines of 
the foregoing meet ; the fountain of all those streams 
of refreshment which they contain — God's sending his 
Son. The consideration hereof will leave no pretence 
or excuse for unbelief. To make this evidence more 
clear, we must consider what was the rise of this send- 
ing ; who it was that was sent \ how he was sent ; and 
to what end and purpose. 

]. The, rise and spring of it is to be considered. It 
came forth from the eternal mutual consent and coun- 
sel of the Father and the Son, " The counsel of peace 
shall be between them both." Zech. 6 ; 13. It is of 
Christ the Branch, of whom the prophet speaks. " He 
shall build the temple of the Lord ; and he shall bear 
the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne ; and 
shall be a Priest upon his throne ; and the counsel of 
peace shall be between them both;" that is, between 
God the Father, who sends him, and himself; there lay 
the counsel of peace-making between God and man, in 
due time accomplished by him who " is our peace." 
Eph. 2:14. So he speaks, " Then I was by him, as one 
brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, re- 
joicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable 
parts of the earth ; and my delights were with the sons 
of men." Prov. S : 30, 31. These are the words of Wis- 



t 

EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 197 

dom, that is, of the Son of God. When was this done 1 
" Then I was with him" — before the mountains were 
settled, n whilst as yet he had not made the earth nor 
the fields ;" that is, before the creation of the world, or 
from eternity, ver. 25, 26. But how then could he re- 
joice in the habitable parts of the earth] and how could 
his delight be with the sons of men, seeing as yet they 
were not 1 I answer, it was the counsel of peace to- 
wards them before mentioned, in accordance with 
which he was to be sent to converse amongst them on 
the earth. He rejoiced in the fore-thoughts of his being 
sent to them, and the work he had to do for them. 
Then, with his own consent and delight, was he fore- 
ordained to his work, even before the " foundation of 
the world," 1 Pet. 1 : 20 ; and received of the Father 
" the promise of eternal life, even before the world be- 
gan," Tit. 1 : 2, that is, to be given to sinners, by way 
of forgiveness through his blood. So is this whole 
counsel expressed, Psalm 40 : 7, 8. Whence it is made 
use of by the apostle, "Then said I, Lo, I come, in the 
volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to 
do thy will, O God." Thy law is in my heart. Heb. 
30:5, 6, 7. There is the will of the Father in this 
matter, and the law of its performance ; and there is 
the will of the Son in answer thereunto, and his de- 
light in fulfilling that law which was prescribed to him. 
Let us now consider to what purpose was this eter- 
nal counsel of peace, this agreement of the Father and 
Son from eternity, about the state and condition of 
mankind. If God would have left them all to perish 
under the guilt of their sins, there had been no need at 
all of any such thoughts, design or counsel. God had 
given to them a law, righteous and holy, which if they 
transgressed, he had threatened them with eternal de- 
struction. Under the rule and power of this law he 
might have righteously left them to stand or fall, ac- 



198 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

cording to its verdict and sentence. But now he as- 
sures us, he reveals to us, that he had other thoughts 
in this matter,* that there were other counsels between 
the Father and the Son concerning us * and these such 
as the Son was delighted in the prospect of accomplish- 
ing. What can these thoughts and counsels be, but 
about a way for their deliverance, w T hich could no 
otherwise be but by the forgiveness of sins \ For if 
God mark iniquities, none can stand. Hearken, there- 
fore, poor sinner, and have hope. God is consulting 
about thy deliverance and freedom • and what cannot 
the wisdom and grace of the Father and Son accom- 
plish 1. For to this end was the Son sent into the world, 
which is the second thing proposed to consideration. 

2. Whom did God send % The Scripture lays great 
weight and emphasis on this consideration ; faith must 
do so also : " God so loved the world, that he gave his 
only-begotten Son," John, 3:16* so 1 John, 4:9, r< In 
this was manifested the love of God towards us, be- 
cause that God sent his only-begotton Son into the 
world, that we might live through him." "Herein is 
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and 
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." And 
who is this that is thus sent, and called " the only-begot- 
ten Son of God 1" Take a double description of him, one 
out of the Old Testament, and another from the New. 
The first from Isa. 9:6, * f To us a child is bom, to us a 
son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoul- 
der, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, 
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of 
Peace :" the other from Heb. 1 : 2, 3, u God hath spoken 
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all 
things, by whom also he made the worlds. Who being 
the brightness of his glory and the express image of 
his person, and upholding all things by the word of his 
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 199 

down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." This 
is he who was sent. In nature he was glorious, even 
God over all, blessed for ever. In answerableness to 
the Father, the brightness of his glory and the express 
image of his person ; possessed of all the same essen- 
tial properties with, him ; so that what we find in him, 
we may be assured is in the Father also ; for he that 
hath seen him, hath seen the Father, who is in him. In 
power, omnipotent ; for he hath made all things, and 
upholdeth all things, with an unspeakable facility, by 
the word of his power : in office, exalted over all ; sit- 
ting at the right hand of the Majesty on high : in name, 
the mighty God, the everlasting Father; so that what- 
ever he came about, he will assuredly fulfil; for what 
should hinder this mighty One from perfecting his 
design ! 

Here is a near and a particular object for faith to be 
exercised about, and to rest in. Wherefore did this 
glorious Son of God come and tabernacle amongst poor 
sinners \ We beheld the glory of the eternal Word, the 
glory of the only-begotten of the Father ; and he was 
made flesh, and pitched his tabernacle amongst us. 
John, 1 : 14. To what end X It was no other but to ac- 
complish the eternal counsel of peace towards sinners 
before mentioned, to procure for them, and to declare 
to them, the forgiveness of sin. And what greater as- 
surance can we have that there is forgiveness with 
God for usl He himself has told us, that giving an 
only-begotten and beloved Son affords assured testi- 
mony of reality and sincerity in the thing that is con- 
firmed by it. So he says to Abraham, " Now I know 
that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not with- 
held thy son, thy only son, from me." Gen. 22 : 12. 
In this way it may be known, or no way. And there is 
a blessed conclusion that faith may make from this con- 
sideration : Now I know that there is forgiveness with 



200 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

God, seeing that he hath not withheld his Son, his only 
Son, that he might accomplish it. To this purpose the 
apostle teaches us to reason, " He that spared not his 
own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he 
not with him also freely give us all things'!" Rom. 8 : 32. 

What further can any soul desire 1 What ground re- 
mains for unbelief to stand upon in this matter 1 Is 
there any thing more to be done 1 It was to manifest 
that there is forgiveness with him, and to make way for 
the exercise of it/ that God sent his Son 5 that the Son 
of God came into the world. 

3. To this sending of the Son of God for this pur- 
pose, there is evidence and security added from the 
manner wherein he was sent. How was this! Not in 
glory, not in an open discovery of his eternal power 
and Godhead. Had it been so, we might have thought 
that he had come merely to glorify himself in the 
world. And this he might have done, without thoughts 
of mercy or pardon towards us. But he came quite in 
another manner \ he was seen in the "likeness of sin- 
ful flesh," Rom. 8 : 3, " in the form of a servant," Phil. 
2:7," being made of a woman, made under the law." 
Gal. 4 : 4«. What he endured in that condition, is in 
some measure known to us all. All this could not be 
merely for himself. All that he expected at the 
close of it, was, " to be glorified with that glory 
which he had with the Father before the world was." 
John, 17:5. It must then be for our sakes ; and for 
what 1 To save and deliver us from that condition of 
wrath at present, and future expectation of vengeance, 
into which we had cast ourselves by sin ; that is, to 
procure for us the forgiveness of sins. Had not God 
designed pardon for sin, he would never have sent his 
Son in this manner to testify it ; and he did it because 
it could in no other way be brought about. Do we 
doubt whether there is forgiveness with Godl or whe- 



EVIDENCES OF FOEGLVEXESS. 201 



tfaer we shall obtain it, if we address ourselves to him 
to be made partakers of it 1 Then let us consider the 
condition of his Son in the world ; review his afflictions, 
poverty, temptation, sorrows, sufferings ; and ask if we 
can find any other design in it, any other reason, cause, 
or necessity of it, but only and merely to testify and 
declare that there is forgiveness with God, and to pur- 
chase and procure the communication of it to us. 

4. Besides all this, there ensues that great and won- 
derful issue, the death of the Son of God. This event 
was great and marvellous, and we may inquire what was 
designed by it. On this point the Scriptures fully show, 

That he died to make atonement for sin, or reconcilia- 
tion for iniquity. Dan. 9 : 24. He gave his life a ran- 
som for the sins of many. Matt. 20 : 28, 1 Tim. 2 : 6. 
He was in it made sin, that others might become the 
righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 8 : 3. 
Therein he bare our T ' sins in his own body on the 
tree." 1 Peter, 2 : 24-. This was the state of the mat- 
ter. Notwithstanding all the love, grace, and conde- 
scension before mentioned, yet our sins were so direct- 
ly opposed to the justice and holiness of God, that un- 
less atonement were made, and a price of redemption 
paid, there could be no pardon, no forgiveness obtained. 
This, therefore, he undertook to do, and that by the sa- 
crifice of himself; answering all that was prefigured by, 
and represented in, the sacrifices of old, as the apostle 
largely declares, Heb. 10 : 5-9. In this sacrifice of him- 
self forgiveness in God is exemplified so clearly and 
evidently, that he who cannot read it will be cursed 
unto eternity : yea, he most be cursed ; for what more 
can be required to justify God in his eternal destruc- 
tion 1 He that will not believe his grace, as testified 
and exemplified in the blood of his Son, must perish 
without remedy. 

The curse a.nd sentence of the law lie on record 

9* 



202 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

against sinners: it puts in its demand against our ac- 
quittance, and lays an obligation upon us to punish- 
ment : and God will not reject nor destroy his law : 
unless it be answered, there is no acceptance for sin- 
ners. This, therefore, in the next place, his death was 
designed unto : as he satisfied and made atonement by 
it unto justice, (which was the fountain, spring, and 
cause of the law,) so he fulfilled and answered the de- 
mands of the law, as it was an effect of the justice of 
God: so Eom. 8 : 3. He suffered in the likeness of sin- 
ful flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be ful- 
filled and answered. He answered the curse of the law 
when he was " made a curse for us," Gal. 3 : 13 5 and 
so became, as to the obedience of the law, " the end 
of the law for righteousness to them that believe." 
Eom. 10 : 3, 4. And as to the penalty that it threat- 
ened, he bore it, removed it, and took it out of the way. 
So hath he made way for forgiveness through the very 
heart of the law ] it hath not one word to speak against 
the pardon of those who believe. But, 

Sinners are under the power of Saia?i ; he lays a claim 
to them, and by what means shall they be rescued from 
his dominion % This also his death was designed to ac- 
complish : for as he was " manifested to destroy the 
works of the devil," 1 John, 3 : 8, so by rr death he de- 
stroyed him that had the power of death," Heb. 2 : 14, 
that is, despoiled him of his power, destroyed his do- 
minion, took away his claim to sinners that believe. 

5. Is this alii did his work cease in his death 1 did 
he do no more for securing the forgiveness of sinsl 
Yes, he lives also after death for the same end and pur- 
pose. The Son of God, in the nature which he assumed 
to expiate sin by death, lives again after death, to se- 
cure to us, and to complete the forgiveness of sins. 
Being raised from death, he evinces and testifies to us 
that he hath fully performed the work he undertook $ for 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 203 

had he not answered the guilt of sin by his death, he 
had never been raised from it. He also lives after death 
a mediatory life, to make intercession for us, that we 
may receive the forgiveness of sin, as also himself to 
give it to us. 

Thus, then, stands this matter 5 the Son of God was 
sent that mercy might have a way to exercise itself iu 
forgiveness consistently with the righteousness and 
law of God. Nov/, here is the greatest work that God 
ever performed or ever will. It was the most eminent 
product of infinite wisdom, goodness, grace, and power. 
And herein do ail the excellencies of God shine forth 
more gloriously than in all the works of his hands. Let 
us then wisely ponder and consider this matter ; let us 
bring our own souls with their objections to this evi- 
dence, and see what exceptions we have to make against 
it. I know nothing will satisfy unbelief; its design is 
to make the soul find that to be so hereafter which it 
would persuade it of here, namely, that there is no for- 
giveness in God. And Satan, who cherishes this unbe- 
lief, knows full well that there is no forgiveness for 
those who will not believe that there is any. For it will, 
at the last day, be unto men according unto their faith 
or unbelief. He that believeth, and he that believetli 
not that there is forgiveness with God, shall each re- 
alize the same in his own experience. But what can be 
excepted against this evidence, the foundation of our 
faith in this matter % God hath not sent his Son in vain, 
which yet he must have done, as we have showed, had 
he not designed to manifest and exercise forgiveness 
towards sinners. Wherefore, to confirm our faith, let 
us search into these things in some particular inquiries. 

Question 1. Seeing the Son of God died, according 
to the determinate counsel and will of God, wherefore 
did he do so, and what aimed he at therein % 

Answer. It is plain that he died for our sins, Rom, 



204 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

4 : 25 5 that is, to make reconciliation for the sins of his 
people. Heb. 2 : 17, 18. This Moses and the prophets, 
this the whole Scriptures testify to ; and without sup- 
posing it not one word can be aright believed, nor can 
we yield any due obedience to God. 

Qu. 2. What then did Christ bearl What was the 
transaction between God as the Judge of all, and him 
as the Mediator of the church 1 

Ans. God indeed " laid on him the iniquities of us all," 
Isa. 53 : 6 ; yea, he made him " a curse for us." Gal. 
3:13. And making him a sin-offering, or an " offering 
for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh." Rom. 8 : 3; 2 
Cor. 5:21. So that what the justice or law of God had 
to require in the punishment due to sin, was laid on him. 

Qu. 3. What then did Christ do in his death 1 What 
did he aim at and design 1 What was his intention in 
submitting to the will of God in these things'? 

Ans. " He bare our sins in his own body on the 
tree." 1 Pet. 2 : 24. He took our sins upon him, under- 
took to answer for them, to make an end of the differ- 
ence about them between God and sinners. Dan. 9 : 24. 
His aim undoubtedly was, by all that he suffered, so to 
make atonement for sin as that no more could in that 
respect be expected. 

Qu. 4. Had God any more to require of sinners on ac- 
count of sin, that his justice might be satisfied, his holi- 
ness vindicated, his glory exalted, his honor repaired, 
than what he charged on Christ 1 Did he lay a part of the 
penalty due to sin on him, execute some part of the curse 
of the law against him, and yet reserve some wrath for 
sinners themselves! 

Ans. No, doubtless. He came to do the whole will 
of God. Heb. 10, 7 : 8. And God spared him not any 
thing that in his holy will he required as an atonement 
for sin. Rom. 8 : 32. He would never have so dealt 
with his Son, to have made a half -work of it \ nor is the 



EVIDENCES Or FOKGIYE.NESS. 205 

work of making satisfaction for sin such as that any, the 
least part of it, can ever be undertaken by another. No- 
thing is more injurious or blasphemous against God and 
Christ, than the foolish imagination among the papists, 
of works satisfactory for the punishment due to sin, or 
any part of it ; or of their purgatory-pains expiating any 
remaining omilt after this life. This work, of making 
satisfaction for sin, is such as no creature in heaven or 
earth can put forth a hand unto. It was wholly com- 
mitted to the Son of God, who alone was able to under- 
take it, and who hath perfectly accomplished it. So that 
God now says, "Fury is not in me," Isa. 27 : 4 ; he that 
will lay hold on my strength, that he may have peace, he 
shall have peace. 

Qu. 5, Did the Lord Christ then go through with his 
undertaking 1 Or did he faint under it ! Did he only tes- 
tify his love, and show his good-will for our deliverance 1 
Or did he also effectually pursue it, and not faint until 
he had made a way for the exercise of forgiveness 1 

Arts. It was not possible that he should be detained 
by the pains of death. Acts, 2 : 24. He knew before- 
hand that he should be carried through his work, that 
he should not be forsaken in it, nor faint under it. Isa. 
50 : 6-8. And God hath given this unquestionable evi- 
dence of his discharge of the debt of sin to the utmost, 
in that he was raised from the dead. For he that is 
given up to prison upon the sentence of the law for the 
debt of sin, shall not be freed until he have paid the ut- 
most farthing. This, therefore, he manifested himself 
to have done, by his resurrection from the dead. 

Qu. 6. What then is now become of him % Where is he, 
and what is he doing % Hath he done his work, and laid 
it aside 1 or doth he still continue to carry it on unto 
its perfection 1 

JIns. It is true he was dead, but he is alive, and lives 
for ever ; and hath told us, that because he liveth we 



206 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

shall live also ; and that, because this is the end of his 
mediatory life in heaven, he lives " for ever to make in- 
tercession for us," Heb. 7 : 25-27 ; and to this end, that 
the forgiveness of sin, which he hath procured for us, 
may be communicated unto us, that we might be made 
partakers of it, and live for ever. 

What ground is left of questioning the truth before 
us I What link of this chain can unbelief break 1 If men 
resolve, notwithstanding all this evidence, that they will 
not believe there is forgiveness with God, or will not be 
encouraged to attempt securing it to themselves, or de- 
spise it as a thing unworthy of their regard ; it is enough 
for them that declare it, that preach these things, that 
they are a sweet savor unto God in them that perish, 
as well as in them that are saved. And I bless God that 
I have had this opportunity to bear testimony to the 
grace of God in Christ, which, if it be not received, it 
is because fr the god of this world hath blinded the eyes 
of men, that the light of the gospel of the glory of God 
should not shine into their minds." But Christ will be 
glorified in them that believe on these principles and 
foundations. 

XIII. Another evidence of forgiveness with God may 
be derived from the fact that He requires forgiveness 
in us, that we should forgive one another; and there- 
fore doubtless there is forgiveness with him for us. 

1. It is certain that God has required this of us; the 
testimonies are many and known, so that they need 
not be particularly insisted on. See Luke, 17 : 3, 4 ; 
Eph. 4 : 32; Matt. 18 : 24, unto the end. There arc 
some things, however, that give a singular emphasis to 
this command, manifesting the great importance of this 
duty in us, which may be remarked. 

Our Savior requires us to carry a sense of our integ- 
rity and sincerity in the discharge of this duty along 



EVIDENCES OF FORGIVENESS. 207 

with us in our addresses to God in prayer. Hence he 
teaches and enjoins us to pray, or plead for the forgive- 
ness of our debts to God, (that is, our sins or trespasses 
against him, which make us debtors to his law and jus- 
tice,) even as we forgive them that so trespass or ofTend 
against us as to stand in need of our forgiveness. Matt. 
6 : 12. Many are ready to devour such as are not sa- 
tisfied that the words of that rule of prayer which he 
hath prescribed are to be precisely read or repeated 
every day. I wish they would as needfully mind the 
prescription here given us for that frame of heart and 
spirit which ought to be in all our supplications ; it 
might possibly abate their wrath in that and other 
things. But here is a rule for all prayer, as all acknow- 
ledge ; as also of the things that are requisite to make 
it acceptable. This in particular is required, that before 
the Searcher of all hearts, and in our addresses to him 
in our greatest concerns, we profess our sincerity in 
the discharge of this duty, and put our obtaining of what 
we desire on that issue. This is a crown put upon the 
head of this duty which makes it very eminent, and 
evidences the great concern of the glory of God and 
our own souls therein. 

Again Ave may observe that no other duty whatever 
is expressly placed in the same order or rank with this ; 
which shows that it is singled out to be professed as a 
token and pledge of our sincerity in all other parts of 
our obedience to God. It is by Christ himself made the 
instance for the trial of our sincerity in our universal 
obedience, which gives no small honor to it. The apos- 
tle puts great weight on the fifth commandment, " Ho- 
nor thy father and thy mother, because it is the first 
commandment with promise." Ephes. 6 : 2. All the 
commandments indeed had a promise : Do this and live ; 
life was promised to the observance of them -all. But 
this is the first that had a peculiar promise annexed to 



208 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

it, and accompanying it. And it was such a promise as 
had a peculiar foundation, through God's ordinance, in 
the thing itself. It is, that the parents should prolong 
the lives of their children that were obedient. Exodus, 
22 : 12. (Hebrew, They shall prolong thy days 5) that 
is, by praying for their prosperity, blessing them in the 
name of God, and directing them in those ways of obe- 
dience whereby they might live and possess the land ; 
and this promise is now translated from the covenant 
of Canaan into the covenant of grace : the blessing of 
parents going far towards interesting their children in 
the promise, and so prolonging their days unto eternity, 
though their days in this world should be of little con- 
tinuance. And as the promise annexed to that com- 
mand renders it singular, so also doth the especial in- 
stancing of this duty in our prayer : for though, as all 
the commandments had a promise, so we are to carry a 
testimony with us of our sincerity in universal obedi- 
ence in our addresses to God: yet the singling out of 
this duty renders it exceedingly remarkable, and shows 
what a value God puts upon it, and how well he is 
pleased with it. 

God requires this forgiveness in us, on account of the 
forgiveness w T e receive from him ; which is to put the 
greatest obligation upon us that we are capable of, arid 
to give the strongest and most powerful motive possible 
to its performance. See Ephes. 4 : 32. 

This duty is more directly and expressly required in 
the New Testament than in the Old. Required then it 
was, but not so openly, so plainly, so expressly, as now. 
Zechariah, when he died, cried, " The Lord look on 
it, and require it ;" but Stephen, dying in the same 
cause, said, " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." 
Elijah called for fire from heaven ; but our Savior re- 
proves the least inclination in his disciples to imitate 
him. And the reason of this difference is, that forgive- 



EVIDENCES OP FO GIVENESS. 209 

ncss in God is far more clearly exhibited, especially in 
the nature and cause of it, in the Gospel, which hath 
brought life and immortality to light, than it was under 
the law. 

This forgiveness of others is made an express con- 
dition of our obtaining forgiveness from God. Matt. 6 : 
14, 15. Our forgiving others will not procure forgive- 
ness for ourselves $ but our not forgiving others proves 
that we ourselves are not forgiven. All these things 
show what weight God himself lays on this duty. 

2. This duty is such, that there is nothing more come- 
ly, useful, or honorable, than a due performance of it. 
To be morose, implacable, inexorable, revengeful, is one 
of the greatest degeneracies of human nature. To re- 
member injuries, to retain a sense of wrongs, to watch 
for opportunities of revenge, to hate and be maliciously 
perverse, is to represent the image of the devil to the 
world in its proper colors ) he is the great enemy and 
self avenger. On the other hand, no grace, no duty, no 
ornament of the mind is in itself so lovely, so praise- 
worthy, or so useful to mankind, as are meekness and 
readiness to forgive. This is that principally which ren- 
ders a man a good man, for whom one would even dare 
to die. And I am sorry to add that this grace or duty 
is recommended by its rarity. It is little found amongst 
the children of men. * 

There is no grace, virtue, or perfection in any man, 
but is an emanation from the Divine goodness and boun- 
ty, and so expressive of some excellence or perfection 
that exists in God in a way infinitely more excellent. 

We are created in the image of God. Whatever was 
good or comely in us was a part of that image ; espe- 
cially the ornaments of our minds, the perfections of 
our souls. These things had in them a resemblance of, 
and a correspondence to some excellences in God. 
This being for the most part lost by sin, a shadow of 



210 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

it only remaining in the faculties of our souls, our re- 
covery by grace is but an initial renovation of the image 
of God in us. Ephes. 4 : 22. It is the implanting upon 
our natures those graces which may render us again 
like unto him. And nothing is grace or virtue but that 
so answers to something in God. So then, whatever is 
in us of this kind, is in God absolutely, perfectly, in a 
manner infinitely more excellent. 

Let us now put these things together. God requires 
of us forgiveness for those that offend us : forgiveness 
without limitation or bounds ; this grace he bestows on 
his saints, sets a high price upon it, and manifests, in 
many ways, that he accounts it among the most excel- 
lent of our endowments, one of the most lovely and 
praiseworthy qualifications of any person. What then 
shall we now say % Is there forgiveness with him, or 
not \ " He that made the eye, shall he not see 1 He that 
planted the ear, shall he not hear 1" He that thus pre- 
scribes forgiveness to us, that bestows the grace of it 
upon us, is there not forgiveness with him \ To deny it, 
is virtually to say, though we are good, yet God is not ; 
though we are benign and bountiful, yet he is not. He 
that finds this grace wrought in him in any measure, 
and yet fears that he shall not find it in God, doth so 
far exalt himself above God , which is the natural effect 
of cursed unbelief. 



GREATNESS OF FORGIVENESS. 211 



CHAPTER XL 



THE GREATNESS OF FORGIVENESS. — PREVAILING UNBELIEF. 

The preceding arguments and demonstrations have, 
we hope, undeniably evinced the great truth that there 
is forgiveness with God, which is the life and soul of 
all our hope, religion, and worship. The end of all this 
discourse is to lay a firm foundation for faith to rest 
upon, in its addresses to God for the forgiveness of 
sins, and to encourage all sorts of persons to this duty. 
This end remains now to be explained and pressed ; but 
two things are further to be premised. And the first 
is, to propose some considerations about this forgive- 
ness which may encourage us io seek after it, and to 
mix the testimonies given to it with faith, for our bene- 
fit. The other is to show how needful all this endeavor 
is, on account of great and prevailing unbelief. As to 
the first of these, then, we may consider, 

I. The forgiveness that is with God is such as be- 
comes him i such as is suitable to his greatness, good- 
ness, and all other excellences : it is great — such that 
therein he will be known to be God. What he says 
concerning some of the works of his providence, "Be 
still, and know that I am God," may be much more said 
concerning this great effect of his grace. It is not 
like that narrow, halving, and manacled forgiveness 
found amongst men, It is full, free, boundless, bottom- 
less, absolute, such as becomes his nature and excel- 
lences. It is, in a word, forgiveness that is with God, 
and by the exercise of which he will be known to be 
God. Hence, 



212 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

1. God himself distinguishes his forgiveness from 
any thing that our thoughts and imaginations can reach, 
and that because it is his, and like himself. It is an ob- 
ject for faith alone, which can rest in that whicb it can- 
not comprehend. It is never safer than when it is, as it 
were, overwhelmed with infiniteness. Bat set mere 
rational thoughts, or the imaginations of our minds, at 
work about such things, and they fall inconceivably 
short of them. They can neither conceive of them 
aright, nor use them to their proper end and purpose. 
Were not forgiveness in God something beyond what 
men could imagine, no flesh could be saved. This he 
himself expresses, " Let the wicked forsake his way, 
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him re- 
turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, 
and to our God, and he will abundantly pardon. For 
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your 
ways my ways, saith the Lord 5 for as the heavens are 
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than 
your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." 
Isa. 55 : 7-9. They are, as is plain in the context, 
thoughts of forgiveness and ways of pardon of which 
he speaks. These our apprehensions come short of; 
we know little or nothing of the infinite largeness of his 
heart in this matter. The person that God speaks of, 
is, as the Hebrew expresses it, an impiously wicked 
man, or a man of deceit and perverse wickedness : he 
whose design and course is nothing but a lie, sin and 
iniquity ; such a one as we should have little or no hope 
of, that we should scarcely think it worth our while to 
deal with, in reference to his conversion; one that we 
•can scarcely find it in our hearts to pray for, but are 
ready to give up as profligate and desperate — but let him 
return unto the Lord, and even he shall obtain forgive- 
ness. But how can this be 1 Is it possible there should 
be mercy for such a one 1 Yes ! for the Lord will multi- 



GREATNESS OF FORGIVENESS. 213 

ply to pardon, (Hebrew.) He hath forgiveness with 
him to outdo all the multiplied sins of any that return to 
him, and seek for it. But this is very hard, very difficult 
for us to apprehend. This is not the manner of men : 
we deal not thus with profligate offenders against us. 
True, saith God, "But your ways are not my ways:" I 
do not act in this matter like unto you, nor as you are 
accustomed to do. How then shall we apprehend it 1 
how shall we conceive of it 1 You can never do it by 
your reason or imaginations: "For as the heavens are 
above the earth, so are my thoughts," in this matter, 
"above your thoughts." This is an expression to show 
the largest and most inconceivable distance. The crea- 
tion will afford no more significant expression or repre- 
sentation o^ it. The heavens are inconceivably distant 
from the earth, and inconceivably glorious above it. So 
are the thoughts of God; they are not only distant 
from ours, but have a glory in them that we cannot 
rise up to. 

For the most part, when we come to deal with God 
about forgiveness, we hang in every briar of disputing 
quarrelsome unbelief. This or that circumstance of ag- 
gravation, this or that unparalleled particular, bereave 
us of our confidence. Want of a due consideration of 
Him with whom we have to do, measuring with the 
line of our own imagination, bringing him down to 
our thoughts and our ways, is the cause of all our 
disquiet. Because we find it hard to forgive pence, 
we think he cannot forgive talents. But he hath pro- 
vided to obviate such thoughts in us, "I will not exe- 
cute the fierceness of my wrath, I will not return to 
destroy Ephraim, for I am God, and not man." Our 
satisfaction in this matter is to be taken from his na- 
ture ; were he a man, or as the sons of men, it were 
impossible that, upon such and so many provocations, 
he should turn away from the fierceness of his anger. 



214 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

But he is God : this gives an inconceivable boundless- 
ness to the forgiveness that is with him, and exalts it 
above all our thoughts and ways. 

2. God engages his infinite excellences to demonstrate 
the greatness and boundlessness of his forgiveness. He 
proposes them to our consideration, to convince us 
that we shall find pardon with him suitable and answer- 
able to them. See Isa. 40 : 27-31. " Why sayest thou, 
O Jacob, and speakest, Israel, My way is hid from 
the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my 
God X Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that 
the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends 
of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary ; there is no 
searching of his understanding : He giveth power to the 
faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth 
strength : even the youths shall faint and be weary, and 
the young men shall utterly fail 3 but they that wait up- 
on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall 
mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not 
be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.' ' The 
matter in question is, whether acceptance with God, 
which is only by forgiveness, is to be obtained or not : 
this sinful Jacob either despairs of, or at least desponds 
about. But, saith God, "My thoughts are not your 
thoughts" in this matter. And what course does he 
take to convince them of their mistake % What argu- 
ment does he make use of to free them from their un- 
belief, and to rebuke their fears 1 Plainly, he calls them 
to the consideration of himself, both who and what he 
is with whom they had to do, that they might expect 
acceptance and forgiveness such as become him. Re- 
minding them of his power, his immensity, his infinite 
wisdom, his unchangeableness, all the excellences and 
properties of his nature, he demands of them whether 
they have not just ground to expect forgiveness and 
grace above all their thoughts and apprehensions, be- 



GREATNESS OF FORGIVENESS. 215 

cause corresponding with the infinite largeness of bis 
heart, from whence it proceeds. 

And Moses uses this plea for the forgiveness of Israel 
under a high provocation and a most severe threaten- 
ing of their destruction. Numb. 11 : 17, 18. He pleads 
for pardon in such a manner as may answer the great 
and glorious properties of the nature of God, and which 
would manifest an infmiteness of power and all-suffi- 
ciency in him. 

This, I say, is an encouragement in general to be- 
lievers. We have, as I hope, upon unquestionable 
grounds evinced that there is forgiveness with God, 
which is the hinge on which the issue of our eternal 
condition turns. Now, this is like himself, such as be- 
comes him $ that answers the infinite perfections of his 
nature ; that is exercised and given forth by him as God. 
We are apt to narrow and limit it hy our unbelief, and 
to render it unbecoming of him. He no more dishonors 
God, who, being wholly under the power of the law, be- 
lieves that there is no forgiveness with him, than he 
does, who, being convinced of the principles and grounds 
of it, and of the truth of the testimony given to it, yet, 
by narrowing and limiting it, renders it unworthy of 
Him whose excellences are all infinite, and whose 
ways on that account are incomprehensible. 

If, then, we resolve to treat with God about forgive- 
ness, let us do it as becomes his greatness, that is, in- 
deed, as the wants of our souls require : let us not 
entangle our own spirits by limiting his grace. The 
father of the child possessed with a devil, being in a 
great agony when he came to our Savior, cries out, " If 
thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and 
help us." Mark, 9 : 22. He would fain be delivered, but 
the matter was so great that he questioned whether the 
Lord Christ had either compassion or power enough for 
his relief. And what did he obtain hereby 1 Nothing 



■H 



216 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

bat the retarding of the cure of his child for a season : 
for our Savior holds him off until he had instructed 
him on this point: " If thou canst believe, all things ar8 
possible unto him that believeth." Mistake not, if thy 
child be not cured, it is not for want of power or pity 
in me, but of faith in thee. My power is such as ren- 
ders all things possible. 

So it is with many who would be made partakers of 
forgiveness: if it be possible, they would be pardoned, 
but they do not see it possible. Why, where is the de- 
fect 1 God hath no pardon for them, or such as they 
are; and so it maybe they will finally come short of 
pardon. What, because it is not possible with God to 
pardon them \ Not at all ; but because they cannot, 
they will not believe that the forgiveness which is 
with him is such that it would answer all the wants of 
their souls. God is dishonored when he is limited 
by us in any thing, and most of all in his grace. 
This he calls a tempting of him, a provoking temp- 
tation, "They turned back and tempted God, they 
limited the Holy One of Israel." Psalm 78 : 41. This 
he could not bear with. If there be any pardon with 
God, it is such as becomes him to give: when he par- 
dons, he will "abundantly pardon." Go with your 
limited, conditional pardons, with reserves and limita- 
tions to the sons of men; it may become them, it is 
like themselves: that of God is absolute and perfect, 
before which our sins are as a cloud before the rising 
sun. Hence he is said to do this work with his whole 
heart and his whole soul ; " charixesthai" freely, bounti- 
fully, largely to indulge and forgive unto us our sins, 
and to cast them into the bottom of the sea, Micah, 
7 : 19, into a bottomless ocean, an emblem of infinite 
mercy. Remember this, poor souls, when you come to 
God for forgiveness: all things are possible to them 
that believe. 



FEEENESS OF FORGIVENESS. 217 

II. This forgiveness is with God, not only so that we 
may apply ourselves to it if we will, for which he will 
not be offended with us, but so also that he hath placed 

HIS GREAT GLORY IN THE DECLARATION AND COMMUNICATION 

of it j nor can we honor him more than by coming to him 
to receive it from him. For the most part, we are as it 
were ready rather to steal forgiveness from God, than 
to receive from him as one that gives it freely and large- 
ly. We take it up and lay it down, as though we would 
be glad to have it, if God did not see us take it ; for we 
are afraid he is not willing we should have it indeed. 
We would steal this fire from heaven, and have a share 
in God's treasures and riches almost without consent : 
at least we think that we have it from him with much 
difficulty 5 that he gives it with a kind of unwilling 
willingness, as we sometimes give alms 5 and that he 
loses as much by us as he gives out in pardon. We are 
apt to think that we are very willing to have forgiveness, 
but that God is unwilling to bestow it, and that because 
he seems to be a loser by it, and to forego the glory of 
inflicting punishment for our sins. This is the nature of 
unbelief. 

But indeed things are quite otherwise. He hath, in 
this matter, through the Lord Christ, ordered all things, 
in his dealings with sinners, to the " praise of the glory 
of his grace." Eph. 1 :, 6. His design in the whole mys- 
tery of the Gospel is to make his grace glorious, or to 
exalt pardoning mercy. The great fruit and product of 
his grace is forgiveness ; the forgiveness of sinners. By 
this God will render himself glorious. For this cause he 
spared the world when sin first entered into it ; for this 
cause did he provide a new covenant when the old was 
become unprofitable ; for this cause did he send his Son 
into the world. We can then no way so eminently bring 
or ascribe glory to God, as by our receiving forgiveness 
from him ; he being willing thereunto on account of its 

Forgiyeness. *U 



218 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

tendency to his own glory in that way which he hath 
peculiarly fixed on for its manifestation. Hence the 
apostle exhorts us to come "boldly to the throne of 
grace," Heb. 4:16; that is, with the confidence of 
faith, as he expounds boldness, chap. 10 : 19, 20. We 
come about a business wherewith he is well pleased ; 
such as he delights in doing. t? The Lord thy God, in 
the midst of thee, is mighty ; he will save, he will re- 
joice over thee with joy. He will rest in his love, he 
will joy over thee with singing." Zeph. 3 : 17. This is 
the way of God's pardoning ; he does it in a rejoicing, tri- 
umphant manner, satisfying abundantly his own holy soul 
therein, and resting in his love. We have, then, abundant 
encouragement to draw nigh to the throne of grace, to be 
made partakers of what God is so willing to give us. 

And to this end serves also the oath of God before in- 
sisted on, namely, to root out all the secret reserves of 
unbelief concerning God's willingness to give mercy, 
grace and pardon to sinners. See Heb. 6 : 17, 18. There- 
fore the tendency of our former arguments is not mere- 
ly to prove that there is forgiveness with God which we 
may believe and not be mistaken, but that we ought to 
believe : it is our duty so to do. We think it our duty to 
pray, to hear the word, to give alms, to love the breth- 
ren, and to abstain from sin ; and if we fail in any of these, 
we find the guilt of them reflected upon our conscience 
to our disquiet ; but we scarcely think it our duty to be- 
lieve the forgiveness of our sins. How few are there 
whose conscience is burdened with this as a sin, that 
they do not, as they ought, believe the forgiveness of 
their sins! And this is merely because men judge it not 
their duty so to do; for a non-performance of a duty so 
apprehended to be such, will reflect on the conscience a 
sense of the guilt of sin. But now, what can be requir- 
ed to make any thing a duty to us, that is wanting in 
this! For, 



FREENE3S OF FORGIVENESS. 219 

1. The forgiveness with God is manifested, revealed, 
declared. This manifestation of it is what makes it the 
object of our faith. We believe things to be in God, not 
merely and formally because they are so, but because he 
hath manifested and revealed them so to be. 1 John, 1 : 2. 
What he so declares, it is our duty to believe, or we frus- 
trate the end of his revelation. 

2. We are expressly commanded to believe, and that 
upon the highest promises and under the greatest pen- 
alties. This command is that which makes believing 
formally a duty. Faith is a grace as it is freely wrought 
in us by the Holy Ghost, the root of all obedience and 
duties as it is radically fixed in the heart ; but as it is com- 
manded, it is " a duty $" and these commands, you know, 
are variously expressed, by invitations, exhortations, 
propositions, which all have in them the nature of com- 
mands, and which take up a great part of the books of 
the New Testament. 

3. It is a duty, as we have showed, of the greatest 
concern to the glory of God ; and, 

4. Of the greatest importance to our souls, here and 
hereafter. These things were necessary to be added, 
to ground our ensuing exhortations on. 

PREVAILING UNBELIEF OF FORGIVENESS. 

We should now naturally proceed to the improvement 
of the truth all along aimed at ; namely, to give exhorta- 
tions and encouragements to believing. But I can take 
few steps in this work wherein, methinks, I do not hear 
some saying, " Surely all this is needless : who is there 
that does not believe all you are laboring to prove 1" 
And so these pains are spent to little or no purpose. I 
shall, therefore, before I persuade any to it, endeavor 
to show that they do it not already. Many, I say, the 
most of men who live under the dispensation of the Gos- 



220 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

pel, do wofully deceive their own souls in this matter. 
They do not believe what they profess themselves to be- 
lieve, and what they think they believe. Men talk of 
fundamental errors : this is to me the most fundamen- 
tal error that any can fall into, and the most pernicious. 
It is made up of these two parts : 1. They do not indeed 
believe forgiveness ; 2. They suppose they do believe it, 
which keeps them from seeking after their only reme- 
dy. Both these mistakes lie at the foundation, and ruin 
the souls of those that live and die in them. I shall then, 
by a brief inquiry, put this matter to a trial. By some 
plain rules and principles may this important question, 
Whether we do indeed believe forgiveness, or not 1 be 
answered and decided. But to the resolution intended, 
I shall premise two observations. 

Men, in this case, are very apt to deceive themselves. 
Self-love, vain hopes, love of pleasure, common false 
principles, sloth, unwillingness to self-condemnation, 
reputation with the world, and it may be in the church, 
all vigorously concur to men's self-deceivings in this 
matter. It is no easy thing for a soul to break through 
all these, and all self-reasonings that rise from them, to 
come to a clear judgment of its own acting in coming 
to God for forgiveness. Men also daily meet with a com- 
mon presumption of this truth, and its being an easy re- 
lief against stings of conscience and disturbing thoughts 
about sin. Aiming, therefore, only at the removal of 
trouble, and finding that their present imagination of its 
removal gives present quiet, they never bring their per- 
suasion to the trial. 

Again, as men are prone to do thus, so they actually 
do; they deceive themselves, and know not that they 
do so. The last day will make this evident, if men will 
no sooner be convinced of their folly. The truth tells 
us " That many are called, and but few are chosen ;" they 
are but few who do really believe forgiveness. When 



MEN DISBELIEVE GOd's FORGIVENESS. 221 

our Savior told his disciples that one of the twelve 
should betray him, though it were but one of twelve 
that was in danger, yet every one of the twelve made a 
particular inquiry about himself; and is it not incumbent 
on every one to be inquiring in what number he is like- 
ly to be found at the last day 1 Whilst men put this in- 
quiry off from themselves, and think or say, "It may 
be the concern of others, it is not mine," they perish, 
and that without remedy. Kemember what poor Jacob 
said when he had lost one child and was afraid of the 
loss of another, " If I be bereaved of my children, I am 
bereaved." Gen. 43 : 14. As if he had said, If I lose 
my children I have no more to lose, they are my all : 
nothing worse could befall me in this world. Comfort, 
joy, yea, life and all, go with them. How much more 
may men say in this case, If we are deceived here, we 
are deceived ; all is lost ; hope, and life, and soul, all 
must perish, and that for ever. There is no help or re- 
lief for them who deceive themselves in this matter : 
they have found out a way to go quietly down into 
the pit. 

Now these things are premised only that they may 
be incentives to self-examination in this matter, and so 
render the ensuing considerations useful : let us then 
address ourselves to them. 

I. In general, this is Gospel-truth; yea, the great, 
fundamental, and most important truth of the Gospel. 
It is the turning point of the two covenants, as God 
himself declares. Heb. 8 : 7-13. Now, a very cursory 
consideration of the ways of men will satisfy us as to 
this inquiry, whether they do indeed believe the Gos- 
pel, the covenant of grace, and the fundamental princi- 
ples of it. Certainly their ignorance, darkness, blind- 
ness, their corrupt affections and worldly conversation, 
their earthly-mindedness and open disavowing of the 
Spirit, ways, and yoke of Christ, speak no such Ian- 



222 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

guage. Shall we think that proud, worldly, self-seekers, 
haters of the people of God and his ways, despisers of 
the Spirit of grace and his work, believe the covenant 
of grace or remission of sins 1 God forbid we should 
entertain any thought of so great dishonor to the Gos- 
pel. Wherever that is received or believed, it pro- 
duces other effects. Titus, 2 : 11, 12; Isaiah, 1 1 : 6-9. It 
teaches men to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts. 
It changes their hearts and ways. It is not such a bar- 
ren, impotent, and fruitless thing as such an apprehen- 
sion would represent it. 

II. They that really believe forgiveness in God do 
thereby obtain forgiveness. Believing gives an interest 
in it ] it brings it home to the soul. This is the inviola- 
ble law of the Gospel. Believing and forgiveness are 
inseparably conjoined. Among the evidences we may 
have of any one being interested in forgiveness, I shall 
only name one, they prize and value it above all the 
world. Let us inquire what esteem those nave of for- 
giveness who do not so much as raise the question 
whether they believe it. Do they look upon it as their 
treasure, their pearl of price 1 Are they solicitous about 
it 1 Do they often look and examine whether it con- 
tinues safe in their possession or not % Suppose a man 
have a precious jewel laid up in some place in his 
house ; suppose it to be to him as the poor widow's two 
mites, all his substance or living ; will he not often think 
of it ] will he not frequently satisfy himself that it is 
safe \ We may know that such a house, such fields or 
lands do not belong to a man, when he passes by them 
daily and takes no notice of them. Now, how do most 
men regard forgiveness \ Are their minds continually 
filled with thoughts about it 1 Are they solicitous con- 
cerning their interest in it % Do they reckon, that whilst 
that is safe, all is safe with them 1 When it is, as it 
were, laid out of the way by sin and unbelief, do they 



MEN DISBELIEVE GOD S FORGIVENESS. 223 

give themselves no rest until it be afresh discovered! 
Is this the frame of the most of men \ The Lord knows 
it is not. They talk of forgiveness, but esteem it not, 
prize it not, make no particular inquiries after it. They 
put it to an ungrounded venture whether ever they be 
partakers of it or not ; for a relief against some pangs 
of conscience it is called npon, or else scarcely thought 
of at all. Let not such Hatter themselves that they 
have any acquaintance with the mystery of gospel-for- 
giveness. 

III. Let it be inquired of those who pretend to this 
persuasion of forgiveness, how they came by it, that we 
may know whether it be of Him who calleth us, or not ; 
that we may try whether they have broken through the 
difficulties in believing it, which we have manifested 
abundantly to lie in their way. 

When Peter confessed our Savior to be the Christ, 
the Son of the living God, he told hirn that " flesh and 
blood had not revealed that unto him, but his Father 
who is in heaven." Matt. 16 : 17. It is so with those 
who indeed believe forgiveness in God : flesh and blood 
hath not revealed it to them. It has not been further- 
ed by any thing within them or without them ; but all 
lies in opposition to it. " This is the work of God, that 
we believe." John, 6:29. A great work, the greatest 
work that God requireth of us. It is not only a great 
thing in itself, (the grace of believing is a great thing,) 
but it is great in respect of its object, (or what we have 
to believe, or forgiveness itself.) The great honor of 
Abraham's faith lay in this, that deaths and difficulties 
lay in the way of it. Rom. 4 : 18-20. But what is a dead 
body, and a dead womb, compared with an accusing 
conscience, a killing law, and apprehensions of a God 
terrible as a consuming fire 1 all which oppose them- 
selves to a soul called to believe forgiveness. 

What now have the most of men, who are confident 



224f FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

in the profession of this faith, to say to this 1 Let them 
speak clearly, and they must say that indeed they 
never found the least difficulty in this matter ; they 
never doubted of it; they never questioned it, and 
know no reason why they should. It is a thing which 
they have so taken for granted, that it never cost them 
an hour's anxiety, prayer, or meditation about it. Have 
they had secret struggles in their hearts about it ] No. 
Have they considered how the objections that lie 
against it may be removed 1 Not at all. But is it so 
indeed that this persuasion is thus produced in you, 
you know not how 1 Are the corrupt natures of men 
and the Gospel so suited, so complying 1 Is the new 
covenant grown so congenial to flesh and blood 1 Is 
the greatest secret that ever was revealed from the 
bosom of the Father become so familiar and easy to 
the wisdom of the flesh 1 Is that which was folly to the 
wise Greeks, and a stumbling-block to the wondering 
Jews, become, on a sudden, wisdom and a plain path to 
men of the same principles that were in them ] The 
truth of the matter is, that such men have a general, 
useless, barren notion of pardon, which Satan, pre- 
sumption, tradition, common report and the custom- 
ary hearing of the word have furnished them ; but as 
for that Gospel discovery of forgiveness of which we 
have been speaking, they are utterly ignorant of it, and 
unacquainted with it. To convince such poor creatures 
of the folly of their presumption, I would but desire 
them to go to some real believers who are or may be 
known to them : let them be asked whether they came 
so easily by their faith and apprehensions of forgive- 
ness, or not] Alas! saith one, these twenty years 
have I been following after God, and yet I have not 
arrived to an abiding cheering persuasion of it. I know 
what it cost me, what trials, difficulties, temptations I 
wrestled with, and went through withal, before I ob- 



MEN DISBELIEVE GODS FORGIVENESS. 225 

tained it, saith another. What I have attained to hath 
been of unspeakable mercy: and it is my daily prayer 
that I may be preserved in it by the exceeding great- 
ness of the power of God; for I continually wrestle 
with storms that are ready to drive me from my anchor. 
A little of this discourse may be sufficient to convince 
poor, dark, carnal creatures, of the folly and vanity of 
their confidence. 

IV. There are certain means whereby the revelation 
of this mystery is made to the souls of men. By these 
they obtain it, or never receive it. The mystery itself 
was a secret, hidden in the counsel of God from eter- 
nity ; nor was there any way whereby it might be re- 
vealed but by the Son of God; and that is done in the 
Gospel. If, then, you say^you know it, let us inquire 
how you came so to do, and by what means it hath 
been declared to you. Has this been done by the 
word of truth ] Was it by the preaching of the word, 
or by reading it, or meditating upon it % Or has it in- 
sensibly gotten ground upon your heart or mind from 
the truth wherein you had been instructed % Or by 
what other ways or means have you come to that ac- 
quaintance with it whereof you boast 1 You can tell 
how you came by your wealth, your gold and silver; 
you know how you became learned, or obtained the 
knowledge of your trade, who taught you it, and how 
you came by it. Wonder not then if you are called to 
answer this question also, By what way or means came 
you to the knowledge of forgiveness, which you boast 
of 1 Was it by any of those before mentioned, or some 
other 1 If you cannot answer distinctly to these things, 
only you say that you have heard it, and believed it 
ever since you can remember ; that those that went be- 
fore you did so ; that so they say with whom you con- 
verse ; that you never met with any one that called it 
in question, nor heard of any, unless it were one or two 

10* 



226 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

despairing wretches, I say, if this is all you -know as 
to the grounds of your confidence in forgiveness, it 
may be justly questioned whether you have any por- 
tion in this matter. If uncertain reports, general no- 
tions lie at the bottom of your persuasion, do not sup- 
pose that you have any communion with Christ therein, 

V. Of those who profess to believe forgiveness, how 
few are there who indeed know what it is. They be- 
lieve, they say ; but, as the Samaritans, worship they 
know not what. With some a bold presumption, and 
crying peace, peace, goes for the belief of forgiveness. 
A general apprehension of impunity from God, and 
that, though they are sinners, yet they shall not be 
punished, passes with others at the same rate. Some 
think they shall prevail with God by their prayers 
and desires, to let them alone and not cast them into 
hell. One way or other, to escape the vengeance of 
hell, not to be punished in another world, is that which 
men fix their minds upon. 

But is this that forgiveness which is revealed in the 
Gospel! The rise and spring of our forgiveness is in 
the heart and gracious nature of God, declared by his 
name. Have you inquired seriously into this ! Have 
you stood at the shore of that infinite ocean of goodness 
and love ! Has your soul found support and relief from 
that consideration! and has your heart leaped within 
you with the thoughts of it! Or, if you have never 
been affected in an especial manner herewith, have you 
bowed down your soul under the consideration of that 
sovereign act of God that is the next spring of forgive- 
ness ; that glorious acting of free grace, that when all 
might justly have perished, all having sinned and come 
short of his glory, God would yet have mercy on some! 
Have you given up yourself to this grace ! Is this any 
part of what you believe! Suppose you are a stranger 
to this also, what communion with God have you had 



KE>i DISBELIEVE GOD's FOEGUVEKESS. 227 

about it in the blood of Christ ! We have showed how 
a way is made by his blood for the exercise of mercy, 
ia consistency with the glory and honor of the jus- 
tice o^ God and o[ his law 5 how pardon is procured 
and purchased thereby ; with the mysterious reconcilia- 
tion of Jove and law. What have you to say to these 
things 1 Have you seen pardon flowing from the heart of 
the Father through the blood of the Son 1 Have you 
looked upon it as the price of his life and the purchase 
of his blood ] Or have yon only general thoughts that 
Christ died for sinners, and that on one account or 
other forgiveness relates to him, while you are a stran- 
ger to the mystery of this great work \ Forgiveness, 
as we have showed, is manifested, tendered, exhibited 
in the covenant of grace and promises of the Gospel ; 
and the rule of their efficacy is, that they be mixed with 
faith, Heb. 4:2; but if you are a stranger to the things 
before mentioned, you are no less to this also. You 
know not, then, what forgiveness is, nor wherein it con- 
sists, nor whence it comes, nor how it is procured, nor 
by what means given to sinners. It is to no purpose for 
such persons to pretend that they believe that to which 
they are such utter strangers. 

VI. Another inquiry into this subject regards the. si ate 
in which souls must be before it be possible for them to 
believe forgiveness. If there be such a state, and it can 
be shown that very many of the pretenders to whom 
we refer, were never brought into it, it is then evident 
that they neither do nor can believe forgiveness, how- 
ever they may delude their own souls* 

It has been shown that the first discovery made of 
pardoning grace was to Adam, presently after the fall. 
What was then his condition] How was he prepared 
for the reception of this great mystery in its first dis- 
covery \ He was convinced oi sin; afraid of punishment, 
he lay trembling before God. Then was forgiveness 



228 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

revealed to him : so the Psalmist states it, " If thou, 
Lord, shouldest mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall 
stand!" Psalm 130 : 3. He is full of thoughts of the 
desert of sin, and of inevitable and eternal ruin, in case 
God should deal with him according to the strictness of 
the law. In that state forgiveness with God is sug- 
gested to him by the Holy Ghost. We know how the 
Pharisees resisted our Savior in reference to this truth. 
"Are we," say they, " blind also V No, saith he, rr Ye 
say, we see, therefore your sin remaineth." John, 9 : 40, 
41. It is to no purpose to talk of forgiveness to such 
persons as you are, you must of necessity abide in your 
sins : I come not to call such righteous persons as you 
are, but sinners to repentance \ who not only are so, 
but are sensible of their being so, and of their undone 
condition : " The whole have no need of the physician, 
but the sick." Whilst you are seeming righteous and 
whole, it is to no end to tell you of forgiveness ; you 
cannot understand it, nor receive it. It is impossible, 
then, that any one should truly believe forgiveness in 
God, unless he be truly convinced of sin in himself. If 
the fallow ground be not broken up, it is to no purpose 
to sow the seed of the Gospel. There is neither life, 
power, nor sweetness, in this truth, unless a door be 
opened for its entrance by conviction of sin. 

Let us then, on this ground also, continue our in- 
quiry of the ordinary boasters of their skill in this mys- 
tery. You believe there is forgiveness with God : yes ,• 
but have you been convinced of sin 1 yes ; you know 
well enough that you are sinners. Answer then but 
once more to the nature of this conviction which you 
say you have : is it not made up of these two ingre- 
dients ] 1. A general notion that you are sinners, as 
all men also are. 2. Particular troublesome reflections 
upon yourselves, when, on any eruption of sin, con- 
science accuses, rebukes, condemns. You will say, Yes, 



MEN DISBELIEVE GOD's FORGIVENESS. 229 

what would you require more 1 I answer, this is not 
true conviction 5 that is a work of the Spirit by the 
word : this you speak of, is a mere natural work, which 
you can no more avoid than you can cease to be men, 
and it gives no assistance in the receiving of forgiveness. 
But it may be you will say you have proceeded far- 
ther. Let us then a little try whether your process has 
been according to the mind of God ; and so, whether 
this invincible bar in your way be removed ; for al- 
though every convinced person does not believe for- 
giveness, yet no one does who is not convinced. Have 
you then been made sensible of your condition by na- 
ture, what it is to be alienated from the life of God, and 
to be obnoxious to his wrath 1 Have you been con- 
vinced of the universal enmity in your heart to God, 
and what it is to be at enmity against God] Has the 
unspeakable multitude of the sins of your life been set 
in order by the law before you] And have you con- 
sidered what it is for sinners, such sinners as you are, 
to have to deal with a righteous and a holy God ] Hath 
the Holy Ghost wrought a serious recognition in your 
hearts of all these things, and caused them to abide 
with you ] If you will answer truly, must you not say 
that indeed you have not been so exercised. You have 
heard of these things many times, but to say that you 
have gone through with this work, and have had ex- 
perience of them, that you cannot do. Then, I say, you 
are strangers to forgiveness, because you are strangers 
to sin. But if you shall say that you have had thoughts 
to this purpose, and are persuaded that you have been 
thoroughly convinced of sin, I shall yet ask you one 
question more, What effects has your conviction pro- 
duced in your hearts and lives 1 Have you been filled 
with perplexities and consternation of spirit thereupon] 
Have you had fears or terrors to wrestle with \ It may 
be you will say, no j nor will I insist upon that inquiry ,• 



230 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

but this I ask you : Has it filled you with self-loathing 
and abhorrence, with self-condemnation and abasement ] 
If it will do any thing, it will do this. If you come 
short here, it is justly to be feared that all your other 
pretences are of no value. Now, where there is no 
work of conviction, there is no faith of forgiveness, 
whatever is pretended. And how many vain boasters 
this sword will cut off, is evident. 

VII. We have yet a greater evidence than all these : 
men live in sin, and therefore they do not believe for- 
giveness of sin. Faith purifies the heart. Acts, 15 : 9. 
Our souls are purified in obeying the truth, 1 Pet. 1 : 22 \ 
and the life is made fruitful by it. Faith produces good 
works, and makes itself perfect by them. James, 2 : 22. 
And the doctrine of forgiveness has a special influence 
unto all holiness : " The grace of God, which bringeth 
salvation, teacheth us to deny all unrighteousness and 
worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously and god- 
ly in this present world," Titus, 2 : 11, 12 ; this is the 
grace whereof we speak. No man then can believe for- 
giveness of sin, without a detestation and relinquish- 
ment of it. The ground of this might be farther mani- 
fested; but all that own the Gospel must acknowledge 
this principle. True faith in the pardon of sin prevails 
with men not to live longer in sin. 

But how is it with the greatest number of those who 
pretend to receive this truth 1 Are their hearts purified 
by it 1 Are their consciences purged \ Are their lives 
changed] Do they deny all ungodliness and worldly 
lusts] Have they found forgiveness effectual to these 
purposes] Whence is it, then, that there is such a bleat- 
ing and bellowing to the contrary amongst them \ Some 
are drunkards, some are swearers, some are unclean 
persons, some are liars, some are worldly, some are 
haters of all the ways of Christ, and all his interests 
upon the earth \ proud, covetous, boasters, self-seekers, 



MEN DISBELIEVE GOd's FORGIVENESS. 231 

envious, wrathful, backbiters, malicious praters, slan- 
derers, and the like : and shall we think that such as 
these believe forgiveness of sin 1 God forbid. Again, 
some are ignorant, blind, utterly unacquainted with the 
mystery of the Gospel, nor do at all make it their busi- 
ness to inquire into it. Either they hear it not at all, or 
negligently, slothfully, from mere custom, and to no pur- 
pose. Let not such persons deceive their own souls: to 
live in sin, and yet believe the forgiveness of sin, is ut- 
terly impossible. Christ will not be a minister of sin, 
nor give his Gospel to be a doctrine of licentiousness ; 
nor shall you be forgiven, that you may be delivered to 
do more abominations. God forbid. 

If any shall say that they thank God they are no such 
publicans as those mentioned ; they are no drunkards, 
no swearers, no unclean persons, or the like ; so that 
they are not concerned in this consideration \ their lives 
and their duties give another account of them. Then 
yet consider further, that the Pharisees were all that 
you say of yourselves \ and yet the greatest despisers 
of forgiveness that ever were in the world ; they hated 
the light, because their deeds were evil. As for the du- 
ties you mention, what, I pray, is the root and spring 
of them! Do they spring from this faith of forgiveness 
you boast of! May it not be feared that it is utterly 
otherwise 1 You do not perform them because you love 
the Gospel, but because you fear the law. If the truth 
were known, I fear it would appear that you get no- 
thing by your believing of pardon but an encourage- 
ment to sin. Your goodness, such as it is, springs from 
another root. It may be also that you ward yourselves 
by it against the strokes of conscience or the guilt of par- 
ticular sins ; this is as bad as the other. You may as well 
be encouraged to sin, as so to be encouraged under sin, 
as to be kept from humiliation for it. None under hea- 
ven are more remote from the belief of grace and par- 



232 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

don than such persons : all their righteousness is from 
the law, and their sin in a great measure from the 
Gospel. 

VIIL They that truly helieve forgiveness, believe it 
for the ends and purposes for which it is revealed of God. 
If God reveals any thing for one end and purpose, and 
men use it quite to another, they do not receive the 
word of God, nor believe the thing revealed \ but delude 
their own souls. 

Let us then weigh to what ends and purposes this for- 
giveness was first revealed by God; for which also its 
manifestation is still continued in the Gospel. We have 
showed who it was to whom this revelation was first 
made, and what condition he was in when it was so made 
to him. A lost, wretched creature, without hope or help ; 
how he should come to obtain acceptance with God he 
knew not. God reveals forgiveness to him by Christ to 
be his all. The intention of God in it was, that a sin- 
ner's all should be of grace. Rom. 11 : 6. If any thing 
be added to it for the same end and purpose, then grace 
is no more grace. Again, God intended it as a new 
foundation of obedience, of love and thankfulness. That 
men should love because forgiven, and be holy because 
pardoned, as I have showed before, that it might be the 
righteousness of a sinner, and a spring of new obedi- 
ence in him, all to the praise of grace, were God's ends 
in its revelation. 

Our inquiry then is, whether men receive this reve- 
lation and use it for these purposes, and these only. I 
might evince the contrary, by passing through the gene- 
ral abuses of the doctrine of grace, which are mentioned 
in Scripture, and common in the world ; but it will not 
be needful. Instead of believing, most men seem to put 
a studied despite on the Gospel. They either proclaim 
it to be an unholy way, by turning its grace into lasci- 
viousness, or a weak and insufficient way, by striving 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 233 

to twist it in with their own righteousness ; both which 
are an abomination to the Lord. 

From these, and other considerations which might be 
added, it is evident that our word is not in vain, nor the 
exhortation w r hich is to be built upon it. It appears 
that, notwithstanding the great pretences in the world, 
there are but few who seriously receive this fundamen- 
tal truth of the Gospel, namely, that there is forgive- 
ness with God. Poor creatures! they sport themselves 
with their own deceivings, and perish in their own 
delusions. 



CHAPTER XII. 



EXHORTATION TO THE BELIEF OF FORGIVENESS. 

We now proceed to the direct uses and practical bear- 
ings of the great truth that there is forgiveness with 
God. The persons concerned in this truth are all sin- 
ners whatever : no sort of sinners are unconcerned in 
it, none are excluded from it : and we include all under 
two heads. 1. Such as never yet sincerely closed with 
the promises of grace, and have never received forgive- 
ness from God in believing. These we have already 
endeavored to undeceive, and to discover those false 
presumptions whereby they are apt to ruin and destroy 
their own souls : these we w r ould now guide into safe 
and pleasant paths, wherein they may find assured rest 
and peace. 2. Others there are who have received it, 
but being again entangled by sin, or clouded by dark- 
ness and temptations, or weakened by unbelief, know 
not how to improve it to their peace and comfort. 
This is the condition of the soul represented in this 



234- FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

psalm ; and which we shall therefore apply ourselves to 
in a special manner, in its proper place. 

Our exhortation, then, is to both. To the first, that 
they would receive it, that they may have life; to the 
other, that they would improve it, that they may have 
peace. To the former, that they would not neglect so 
great a salvation as is tendered to them ; to the lat- 
ter, that they would stir up the grace of God that is in 
them, to mix with the grace of God that is declared to 
them. 

I begin with the first class, those who are yet utter 
strangers from the covenant of grace ; who never yet, 
upon saving grounds, believed this forgiveness; who 
never have yet once tasted of Gospel pardon. Poor 
sinners ! this word is to you. 

Be it that you have heard or read the same instruc- 
tions before, or others to the same purpose. It is your 
concern to hear them again. God would have it so ; 
the testimony of Jesus Christ is thus to be accomplish- 
ed. This counsel of God we must declare, that we may 
be free "from the blood of all men," Acts, 20:26, 27, 
and that not once or twice, but in preaching the word 
we must " be instant in season, out of season, reprov- 
ing, rebuking, exhorting, with all long-suffering and 
doctrine." 2 Tim. 4 : 2. And wo to you, when God 
leaves thus speaking to you ; when he refuses to exhort 
you any more, wo unto you. This is God's departure 
from any person or people, when he will deal with them 
no more about forgiveness: "Wo unto them when I 
depart from them." Hos. 9 : 12. O that God would 
give such persons seeing eyes and hearing ears, that 
the word of grace may never more be spoken to them 
in vain. Now,«in our exhortation to such persons, we 
shall proceed iu order according as the importance and 
the nature of the subject require. Consider, therefore, 

I. That, notwithstanding all your sins, all the evil 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 235 

that your own hearts know you to be guilty of, and 
that hidden mass of sin which is in you, which you are 
not able to discover, notwithstanding that charge that 
lies upon you from your own conscience, and that 
dreadful sentence and curse of the law which you are 
obnoxious to 5 notwithstanding all the just grounds you 
have to apprehend that God is your enemy, and will be 
so to eternity ; yet terms of peace and reconcilia- 
tion ARE PROVIDED AND PROPOSED BETWEEN HIM AND YOUR 

soul. This, in the first place, is clearly declared in the 
psalm on which our discourse is founded. Whatever 
else it informs us of, this it positively asserts, namely, 
that there is a way whereby sinners may come to be 
accepted with God : for there is forgiveness with him, 
that he may be feared. And we hope that we have not 
confirmed it by so many evidences in vain. Now, that 
you may see how great a privilege this is, and how 
deeply you are concerned in it, consider, 

1. That this belongs to you in an especial manner; it 
is your peculiar advantage. 

It is not so with the angels that sinned. There were 
never any terms of peace or reconciliation proposed to 
them, nor ever shall be to eternity. There is no way 
of escape provided for them. Having once sinned as 
you have done a thousand times, God spared them 
not, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them 
into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment. 
2 Pet. 2 : 4. 

It is not so with them that have died m their sins. 
Ah ! how would many souls, who are departed, it may 
be not an hour since, out of this world, rejoice for an 
interest in this privilege, the hearing of terms of peace 
once more between God and them ; but their time is 
past, their house is left unto them desolate. As the 
tree falleth, so it must lie : " It is appointed unto men 
once to die, and after this the judgment." Heb. 9 : 27, 



236 PORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

After death there are no terms of peace ; nothing but 
judgment. The living, the living, he alone is capable of 
this advantage. 

It is not so with those to whom the Gospel is not 
preached. God suffers them to walk in their own ways, 
and calls them not thus to repentance. The terms of 
reconciliation, which some fancy to be offered in the 
shining of the sun and falling of the rain, never brought 
souls to peace with God. Life and immortality are 
brought to light only by the Gospel. Thi3 is your 
privilege who yet live, and yet have the word sounding 
in your ears. 

It is not thus with those who have sinned against the 
Holy Ghost, though yet alive, and living where the word 
of forgiveness is preached. Blasphemy against him, 
saith Christ, shall not be forgiven. Matt. 12 : 31. There 
is no forgiveness for such sinners : " Their sin is unto 
death." 1 John, 5 : 16. And what numbers may be in 
this condition, God knows! 

This word, then, is unto you: these terms of peace 
are proposed to you. This is that which, in an especial 
manner, you are to apply yourself unto ; and wo to you 
if you shall be found to have neglected it at the last day. 
Therefore consider, 

2. By whom these terms are proposed to you, and by 
whom these were procured for you. By whom are they 
proposed 1 Who shall undertake to be an umpire in the 
controversy between God and sinners] No creature, 
doubtless, is either meet or worthy to interpose in this 
matter. " For who hath known the mind of the Lord, 
or who hath been his counsellor 1" Wherefore it is God 
himself who proposes these terms ; and not only pro- 
poses them, but invites, exhorts, and persuades you to 
accept of them. This the whole Scripture testifies to. It 
is fully expressed, 2 Cor. 5 : 18-20. He hath provided 
them, he hath proposed them, and only makes use of 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 237 

men, of ministers, to act in his name. And excuse us if 
we are a little earnest with you in this matter. Alas ! our 
utmost to which, by zeal for his glory or compassion to 
your souls, we can raise our thoughts, comes infinite- 
ly short of his own pressing earnestness. See Isa. 55 : 
1-4. Oh infinite condescension ! Oh blessed grace ! 
Who is this that thus addresses you 1 It is He against 
whom you have sinned, of whom you are justly afraid ; 
he whose laws you have broken, and whose name you 
have dishonored ; he who needs not you, nor your love, 
nor your friendship, nor your salvation. It is he who 
proposes to you these terms of reconciliation and 
peace. Consider the exhortation of the apostle, " See 
that ye refuse not Him that speaketh from heaven." 
Heb. 12 : 25. Wo be unto your soul, and that for ever, 
if you should refuse him ! 

3. By whom were these terms procured for you ] and 
by what means 1 Do not think that this matter was 
brought about by chance, or by an ordinary undertaking. 
Remember that the proposal made to you this day cost 
no less than the price of the blood of the Son of God. It 
is the fruit of the travail of his soul. For this he prayed, 
he wept, he suffered, he died. And shall it now be neg- 
lected or despised by you % Will you yet account the 
covenant to be a common thing 1 Will you exclude your- 
selves from all benefits of the purpose of those terms, 
and only leave your souls to answer for the contempt 
of the price whereby they were purchased] 

4. Consider that you are sinners, great sinners, curs- 
ed sinners ; some of you, it may be, worse than innu- 
merable of your fellow-sinners were, who are now in 
hell. God might long since have cast you off everlast- 
ingly from all expectation of mercy, and have caused all 
your hopes, to perish ; or he might have left you alive, 
and yet have refused any longer to offer you terms of 
mercy. He could have caused your sun to go down at 



238 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

noon-day, and have given you darkness instead of vision. 
He could respite your lives for a season, and yet swear 
in his wrath that you should never enter into his rest. 
It is now otherwise : how long it may be so, neither you 
nor I know any thing at all. God only knows what will 
be your time, what your continuance. We are to warn 
you whilst it is called to-day. And this is that for the 
present which I have to offer to you : God declares that 
there is forgiveness with him ; that your condition is 
not desperate nor helpless. There are yet terms of 
peace proposed to you. Methinks it cannot but seem 
strange that poor sinners should not at the least stir up 
themselves to inquire after them. When a poor man 
had sold himself of old, and his children, to be servants, 
and parted with the land of his inheritance unto another, 
because of his poverty ; with what heart, do you think, did 
he hear the sound of the trumpet, when it began to pro- 
claim the year of jubilee, wherein he and all his were to 
go out at liberty, and to return to his possession and in- 
heritance 1 And shall not poor servants of sin, slaves to 
Satan, that have forfeited all their inheritance in this 
world and that which is to come, attend to a proclama- 
tion of the year of rest, of the acceptable year of the 
Lord 1 And this is done in the tender of terms of peace 
with God. Do not put it off; this thing belongs to you ; 
the great concern of your souls lies in it. It is a great 
matter ; for, consider, 

5. That when the angels came to bring the news of 
the birth of our Lord Jesus they say, We bring good 
tidings of great joy to the whole people. Luke, 2 : 10. 
What are these joyful tidings] What was the matter 
of this report % Why, " This day is born a Savior, 
Christ the Lord." ver. 11. It is only this; a Savior is 
born : a way of escape is provided ; and further they 
do not proceed. Yet this, they say, is a matter of great 
joy, as it was indeed. It is to ever}'- burdened, convinced 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 239 

sinner a matter of unspeakable joy and rejoicing. Oh, 
blessed words! "a Savior is born." This gives life to a 
sinner, and opens a door of hope in the valley of Achor, 
the first rescue of a sin-distressed soul. It was all that 
the saints for many ages had to live upon ; and that not 
in the enjoyment, but only the expectation. They lived 
on that word, " The seed of the woman shall bruise the 
serpent's head ;" that is, a way of deliverance is provi- 
ded for sinners. This with all diligence they inquired 
into, 1 Pet. 1 : 10-12, and improved it to their eter- 
nal advantage. As of old, when Jacob saw the wagons 
that his son Joseph had sent to bring him to him, it is 
said his spirit revived; so did they upon their obscure 
discovery of a way of forgiveness. They looked upon the 
promise of it as that which God had sent to bring them 
to him ; and they saw the day of the coming of Christ in 
it, and rejoiced. How much more have sinners now 
reason so to do, when the substance of the promise is 
exhibited, and the news of his coming proclaimed to 
them. 

If any one were justly condemned to a cruel and 
shameful death, and lay trembling in expectation of the 
execution, and a man designed for that purpose should 
come to him and tell him that there were terms pro- 
pounded on which his life might be spared, only he 
came away, like Ahimaaz, before he heard the particu- 
lars 3 would it not be reviving to him ! Would he not 
cry out, Pray inquire what they are, for there is nothing 
so difficult that I will not undergo it to free myself 
from this miserable condition 1 Would it not change the 
whole frame of the spirit of such a man, and as it were 
put new life into him 1 And if, instead of this, he 
should be froward, stubborn, and obstinate, take no 
notice of the messenger, or say, Let the judge keep his 
terms to himself, without inquiring what they are ; 
would not such a person be deemed to perish deserved- 



240 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

ly % Doth he not bring a double destruction upon him- 
self ; first, of deserving death by his crimes, and then 
by refusing the good way of delivery tendered to himl 
I confess it often occurs that men come to inquire after 
these terms of peace, which, when they are revealed 
they like them not, but, with the young man in the 
Gospel, go away sorrow T ful. The cursed wickedness 
and misery of such a condition shall be spoken to after- 
wards. At present I speak to those who never yet at- 
tended in sincerity to these terms, nor seriously in- 
quired after them. Think what you please of your con- 
dition ; choose whether you will think of it or not; 
pass your time regardless of your present and future 
state ; yet indeed you lie under the sentence of a bitter, 
shameful and everlasting death. You have made light 
of it in the midst of all your jollity, ever since you came 
into this world; but you are in the hand of Him who 
can, in the twinkling of an eye, destroy both soul and 
body in hell-fire. In this your condition, men are sent 
on purpose to let you know that there are terms of 
peace, that there is yet a way of escape for you ; and 
that you may not fail of salvation, they tell you that 
God, who cannot lie, hath commanded them to tell you 
so. If you question the truth of what they say, they 
are ready to produce their warrant under God's own 
hand and seal; here then is no room for excuses. Cer- 
tainly, if you have any care of your eternal state, if 
you have any drop of tender blood running in your 
veins towards your own souls, if you have any rational 
considerations dwelling in your minds, if all be not de- 
faced and obliterated through the power of lust and 
love of sin, you cannot but consider yourselves un- 
speakably concerned in this proposal. But now, if you 
give up yourselves to the power of unbelief, the will of 
Satan, the love of your lusts, and this present world 
so as to take no notice of this message from God, nor 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 241 

once seriously to inquire after the nature and impor- 
tance of the terms proposed ; can you escape 1 Shall 
you be delivered 1 Will your latter end be peace 1 
The Lord knows it will be otherwise with you, and 
that to eternity. 

So the apostle assures us, " If our Gospel be hid, it is 
hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this 
world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, 
lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the 
image of God, should shine unto them." 2 Cor. 4 : 3, 4. 
If you receive not this word, if it be hid from you, it is 
from the power and efficacy of Satan upon your minds. 
And what will be the end 1 Perish you must, and that 
for ever. 

Remember the parable of our Savior, " What king, 
going to make war against another king, sitteth not 
down first and consulteth whether he be able with ten 
thousand to meet him that cometh against him with 
twenty thousand; or else, while the other is yet a 
great way off, he sendeth an embassage, and desireth 
conditions of peace." Luke, 14 : 31, 32. He teaches in 
this parable the necessity that lies on us of seeking 
peace with God, whom we have provoked, and justly 
made to be our enemy : as also our utter impotency 
to resist and withstand him when he shall come forth 
in a way of judgment and vengeance against us. But 
here lies a difference such as is allowed in all simili- 
tudes: amongst men at variance, it is not he who is the 
stronger and secure of success that sends to the weak- 
er, whom he hath in his power, to accept of terms of 
peace 5 but God, who is infinitely powerful, justly pro- 
voked, and able to destroy poor sinners in a moment, 
when now he is not very far off, but at the very door, 
sends himself an embassage with conditions of peace. 
And shall he be refused by you 1 Will you yet neglect 
his offers ! How great then will be your destruction ! 

Forgiveness. * * 



212 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

Hear then once more, poor sin-hardened, senseless 
souls, " ye stout-hearted and far from righteousness." 
Is it nothing to you that the great and holy God, whom 
you have provoked all your days, and whom you yet 
continue to provoke, who hath not the least need of you 
or your salvation, who can, when he pleases, eternally 
glorify himself in your destruction, should of his own 
accord send to let you know that he is willing to be at 
peace with you on the terms he hath proposed 1 The 
enmity began on your part, the danger is on your part 
only ; and he might justly expect that the message for 
peace should begin on your part also : but he begins 
with you, and shall he be rejected] The prophet well 
expresses this, "Thus saith the Lord God, the holy 
One of Israel, In returning and rest shall ye be saved ; 
in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength : 
and ye would not." Isa. 30 : 15. The love and con- 
descension in these words, on the one hand on the 
part of God, and the folly and ingratitude mentioned 
in them en the other hand, are inexpressible. They 
are fearful words : "But you would not." Remember 
this against another day. As our Savior says in like 
manner to the Jews, " Ye will not come unto me that 
ye may have life." Whatever is pretended, it is will 
and stubbornness that lie at the bottom of this refusal. 

Wherefore, that either you may obtain advantage by 
it, or that the way of the Lord may be prepared for the 
glorifying of himself in you, I shall leave this message 
before all them that read or hear it, as the testimony 
which God requires to be given unto his grace. There 
are terms of peace with God provided for you, and 
tendered to you; it is yet called to-day, ff harden not 
your hearts," like those of old, who could not enter 
into the rest of God by reason of unbelief. Heb. 3 : 19. 
Some, it may be, are old in sin, and unacquainted with 
God; some, it may be, have been great and scandalous 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 243 

sinners ; and some, it maybe, have reason to apprehend 
themselves near the grave and hell ; some of yon, it may 
be, have your consciences disquieted and galled; and it 
may be, some are under outward troubles and perplex- 
ities that cause you a little to look about you; and some 
of you, it may be, are in the madness of your natural 
strength and lusts ; your breasts are full of milk, and 
your bones of marrow, and your hearts of sin, pride and 
contempt of the ways of God : all is one ; this word is 
unto you all ; and I shall only remind you, V that it is a 
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." 
You hear the voice or read the words of a poor worm, 
but the message is the message, and the word is the 
word of Him who shaketh heaven and earth. Consider 
well, then, what you have to do, and what answer you 
will return to Him who will not be mocked. 

But you will say, Why is this matter urged with so 
much earnestness \ We have heard the same words a 
hundred times over. The last Lord's day, such a one 
or such a one preached to the same purpose ; and why 
need it be insisted on again with so much importunity'? 

And is it so indeed, that you have thus frequently 
been warned, and yet continue in a state of irreconcilia- 
tion'? My heart is pained for you, to think of your wo- 
ful and almost remediless condition. If he that, " being 
often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall perish sud- 
denly, and that without remedy," Prov. 29 : 1, how 
much more will he, who being often invited to peace 
with God, yet hardeneth his heart and refuseth to hear ! 
Methinks I hear his voice concerning you, " Those, 
mine enemies, they shall not taste of the supper that I 
have prepared." Be it, then, that our message is a com- 
mon one to you, and you set no value upon it,- then 
take your way and course in sin ; stumble, fall, and pe- 
rish — it is not so slight a matter to poor convinced sin- 
ners, that tremble at the word of God; these will prize 



214 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

it, and improve it. We shall follow, then, that counsel, 
" Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, 
and wine to those that be of a heavy heart." Prov. 31 : 
6. We shall tender this new wine of the Gospel to poor 
sad-hearted, conscience-distressed sinners, sinners that 
are ready to perish ; to them it will be pleasant, they 
will " drink of it, and forget their poverty, and remem- 
ber their misery no more." It shall take away all their 
sorrow and sadness ; when you shall be drunk with the 
fruit of your lusts, and lie down, and not rise again. 

And now, if any begin to say in their hearts that they 
would willingly treat with God ; tr O that the day were 
come wherein we might approach unto him ! Let him 
speak what he pleaseth, and propose what terms he 
pleaseth, we are ready to hear." Then consider, 

II. That the terms provided for you, and proposed to 
you, are equal, holy, righteous, yea, pleasant and 
easy. They are not such as a cursed guilty sinner might 
justly expect, but such as are meet for an infinitely good 
and gracious God to propose ; not suited to the wis- 
dom of man, but full of the wisdom of God. 1 Cor. 2 : 
6, 7. The poor convinced wretch, thinking of dealing 
with God, Micah, 6 : 6, 7, rolls in his mind what terms he 
is likely to meet with; and fixes on the most dreadful 
and difficult terms that can be imagined. If, saith he, 
any thing be done with this great and most high God, 
it must be by rivers, thousands and ten thousands, chil- 
dren, first-born ; whatever is dreadful and terrible to na- 
ture, whatever it is impossible for me to perform, that 
is it which he looks for. But the matter is quite other- 
wise ; the terms are wholly of another nature; it is a 
way of mere mercy, a way of free forgiveness. The 
apostle lays it down, Rom. 3 : 23-25 ; it is a way of pro- 
pitiation, of pardon, of forgiveness in the blood of Christ ; 
the terms are the acceptance of the forgiveness that we 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 245 

have described. Who would not think now, that the 
whole world would fly to him to be made partakers of 
these terms, willingly accepting of them 1 But it proves 
for the most part quite otherwise. Men like not this 
way, of all others. It had been something, says Naaman, 
if the prophet had come and done so and so ; but this, 
u Go, wash and be clean," I do not like it, I am but de- 
luded. Men think that had it been some sreat thihgf that 
was required of them that they might be saved, they 
would with all speed address themselves to it ; but to 
come to God by Christ, to be freely forgiven, they like it 
not. Some rigid, austere penances, some compensatory 
obedience, some satisfactory mortification, or purgatory, 
had been a better way : this of mere pardon, in and by 
the cross, is but folly. 1 Cor. 1 : 18-20. I had rather, 
saith the Jew, have it as it were by the works of the 
law, Kom. 9 ; 32, and chap. 10 : 3. This way of grace 
and forgiveness I like not. So say others also : so prac- 
tise others every day ; either this way is wholly rejected, 
or it is mended by some additions 5 which, with Cod, 
is the same as the rejection of it. 

Here multitudes of souls deceive themselves and pe- 
rish. I know not whether it be more difficult to per- 
suade an unconvinced person to think of any terms, or 
a convinced person to accept of these. Let men say 
what they will and pretend what they please, yet prac- 
tically they like not this way of forgiveness. I shall 
therefore offer some considerations tending to further 
your souls in the acceptance of the terms proposed. 

1. This is the way; these are terms of God's gwti 
choosing ; he found out this way, he established it him- 
self. He did it when all was lost and undone ; he did 
it not upon our desire, request, or proposal, but merely 
of his own accord ; and why should we contend with 
him about it 1 If God will have us saved in a way of 
mere mercy and forgiveness ) if his wisdom and sove- 



246 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

reignty be in it, shall we oppose him and say we like it 
not 1 Yet this is the language of unbelief. Rom. 10 : 3, 4. 
Many poor creatures have disputed it with God, until 
at length, being overpowered as it were by the Spirit, 
they have said, If it must be so, and God will save us 
by mercy and grace, let it be so, we yield ourselves to 
his will j and yet throughout they dreamed of nothing 
but that their own unworthiness merely kept them from 
closing with the promise of the Gospel. 

Thus Satan deceived our first parents, and deprived 
them of their interest in the covenant of works. The 
terms of it, saith he, as apprehended by you, are un- 
equal. " Yea, hath God said, Ye shall eat of every tree 
of the garden, but of the tree of knowledge of good and 
evil ye shall not eat, lest ye die j" come, " you shall 
not die, for God doth know, in the day you eat thereof 
your eyes shall be opened." As if he had said, there is 
no proportion between the disobedience and the threat- 
ening : the issue cannot be such as is feared. And by 
these means he ruined them. Thus also he proceeds to 
deprive souls of their interest in the covenant of grace, 
to which they are invited. The terms of it, he says, 
are unequal, how can any man believe them \ There is 
no proportion between the obedience and the promise. 
To have pardon, forgiveness, life, and a blessed eternity, 
on believing, who can rest in it % And here lies a con- 
spiracy between Satan and unbelief, against the wis- 
dom, goodness, love, grace and sovereignty of God. 

The poison of this deceit lies in representing that 
neither the righteousness nor the mercy of God is infi- 
nite, as indeed they are. The apostle, to remove this 
unbelief, calls us to the pleasure of God : " It pleased 
God by the foolishness cf preaching," 1 Cor. 1 : 21, that 
is by the Gospel preached, which they esteemed fool- 
ishness, to save believers. He suffered men, indeed, to 
make trial of other ways 5 and when their insufficiency 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 247 

for the ends men proposed to themselves was manifest- 
ed, it pleased him to reveal his way. And what are we, 
that we should contend about it with him 1 God's rejec- 
tion of the way of personal righteousness, aud choosing 
the way of grace and forgiveness, he reveals, Jer. 
31:31-34-. " Behold the days come, saith the Lord, 
that I will make a new covenant with the house of 
Israel and the house of Judah ; not according to the 
covenant which I made with their fathers," (in which 
administration of the covenant, as far as it had respect 
to typical mercies, much depended on their personal 
obedience,) " but this shall be the covenant that I will 
make with the house of Israel after those days, saith 
the Lord: I will put my law in their hearts, and will 
forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more." 
Let, then, this way stand, and the way of man's wis- 
dom and self-righteousness perish for ever. 

2. This is the way that, above all others, tends di- 
rectly and immediately to the glory of God. God has 
ordered all things in this way of forgiveness, so that 
fr no flesh should glory in his presence," but that " he 
that glorieth, should glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1 : 29, 
31. * Where then is boasting 1 It is excluded; by 
what law % By the law Gf works % nay, but by the lav/ 
of faith." Rom. 3 : 27. It might be easily manifested 
that God hath so laid the design of saving sinners by 
forgiveness, according to the law of faith, that it is ut- 
terly impossible that any soul should, on any account 
whatever, have the least ground of glorying in itself, 
either absolutely or in comparison with them that pe- 
rish. " If Abraham," saith the apostle, " were justified 
by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before 
God." Chap. 4 : 2. The obedience o[ works would 
have been so infinitely disproportionate to the reward, 
which was God himself, that there could have been no 
glorying before God 3 yet, in comparison with others 



248 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

who yielded not the obedience required, he would have 
had whereof to glory ; but now this also is cut off by 
the way of forgiveness, and no pretence is left for any 
to claim the least share in the glory of it but God alone. 
And herein lies the excellency of faith, that it gives 
glory to God, Rom. 4:20, the denial of which, under 
various pretences, is the fruit of proud unbelief. And 
this God will bring all unto, or they shall perish ; 
namely, that shame be ours, and the whole glory of our 
salvation be his alone. So he expresses his design, Isa. 
45 : 22-25 ; verse 22, he proposes himself as the only 
relief for sinners : " Look unto me," saith he, " and be 
ye saved, all the ends of the earth." But what if men 
take some other course, and look to themselves, and so 
decline this way of mere mercy and grace 1 Why saith 
he, verse 23, "I have sworn by myself, the word is 
gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not 
return, that unto me every knee shall bow, and every 
tongue shall swear." I have sworn that you shall either 
do so, or answer for your disobedience at the day of 
judgment. And how do the saints reply to this 1 verse 
24, 25. " Surely shall one say, in the Lord have I 
righteousness and strength. In the Lord shall all the 
seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory." They bring 
their hearts to accept of all righteousness from him, 
and to give all glory to him. 

God at first placed man in a blessed state, in which 
he might have wrought out his own eternal happiness 
with a great reputation of glory to himself. But " man 
being in this honor," saith the Psalmist, M abode not." 
God now fixes on another way, wherein all the glory 
shall be his own, as the apostle at large sets it forth. 
Rom. 3 : 23-26. Now, neither the way from which 
Adam fell, nor that wherein some of the angels con- 
tinued, which were substantially the same, is to be com- 
pared with this of forgiveness, as to its bringing glory to 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 249 

God. I hate curiosity and conjecture in the things of 
God ; yet I think I may boldly say, that, on account of 
the interposition of the blood of Christ, there comes 
more glory to God by saving one sinner in this way of 
forgiveness, than in giving the reward of blessedness to 
all the angels in heaven ; so seems it to appear from 
that solemn representation we have of the ascription of 
glory to God by the whole creation, Rev. 5 : 9-13. All 
centres in forgiveness by the blood of the Lamb. 

I insist the more on this, because it lies so directly 
against that cursed principle of unbelief which reigns 
in the hearts of the most, and often disquiets the best. 
That a poor ungodly sinner, going to God with the 
guilt of all his sins upon him, to receive forgiveness at 
his hand, doth bring more glory to him than the obe- 
dience of an angel, men are not over-ready to think, 
nor can be prepared for it but by forgiveness itself. 
And the nature of that unbelief which worketh in con- 
vinced sinners, lies in a refusal to give to God the 
whole glory of salvation. There are many hurtful con- 
troversies in religion that are managed in the world 
with great noise and clamor ; but this is the greatest 
and most pernicious of them all, and it is for the most 
part silently transacted in the souls of men, although 
under various forms and pretences. It hath also broken 
forth in writings and disputations, that is, whether God 
or man shall have the glory of salvation, or whether it 
shall be wholly ascribed to God, or man also on one 
account or other may come in for a share. Tsow if this 
be the condition with any of you, that you will rather 
perish than God should have the glory, what can we 
say but, Go, ye cursed souls, perish for ever, without 
the least compassion from God, or any that love him, 
angels or men. 

If you shall say, for your part, you are contented 
with this course, let God have the glory, so you may 

11* 



250 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

be forgiven and saved ; there is yet just cause to sus- 
pect lest this be a selfish contempt of God. It is a 
great thing to give glory to God by truly believing. 
Such slight returns seem not to have the least relation 
to it. Take heed that instead of believing, you be not 
found mockers, and so your bands be made strong. 

But a poor convinced sinner may here find encou- 
ragement. Thou wouldst willingly come to acceptance 
with God, and so attain salvation. " Oh, my soul long- 
eth for it !" Wouldst thou willingly take that course 
for obtaining those ends which will bring most glory to 
God % " Surely it is meet, and most equal, that I should 
do so." What now if one should come and tell thee 
from the Lord, of a way whereby thou, poor, sinful, 
self-condemned creature, mightest bring as much glory 
unto God as any angel in heaven is able to do 1 M Oh ! 
if I might bring the least glory unto God, I should re- 
joice in it." Behold, then, the way which himself hath 
fixed on for the exaltation of his glory, even that thou 
shouldst come to him, merely on account of grace in 
the blood of Christ, for pardon and forgiveness ; and 
the Lord strengthen thee to give up thyself thereunto. 

3. Consider, that if this way of salvation be refused, 
ihere is no other way for you. We do not propose this 
way of forgiveness as the best and most pleasant, but as 
the only way. There is no other name given but that of 
Christ; no other way but this of forgiveness. Here lies 
your choice ; take this path, or perish for ever. It is a 
shame, indeed, to our cursed nature, that there should 
be any need to use this argument, that we will neither 
submit to God's sovereignty nor delight in his glory ; but 
seeing it must be used, let it be so. I intend neither to 
flatter men nor to frighten them, but to tell them the 
truth as it is. If you continue in your present state ; if 
you rest on what you do, or what you hope to do ; if you 
support yourself with general hopes of mercy, mixed with 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 251 

your own endeavors and obedience— if you come not up 
to a thorough Gospel-closing with this way of God — if 
you make it not your all, giving glory to God therein, 
perish you will and must, and that to eternity. There 
remains no more sacrifice for your sins, nor way of es- 
cape for your soul. You have then not only the excel- 
lency of this way to invite you, but the absolute, indis- 
pensable necessity of this way to constrain you. And 
now let me add that I am glad this word is spoken unto 
you: you and I must one day give account for this dis- 
course, which, if neglected, will prove a sore testimony 
against you : it will not fare with you as with other 
men who have not heard the joyful sound. All these 
words that shall be found consonant to the Gospel, if 
they are not turned to grace in your heart here, will 
turn into torment to your soul hereafter. Choose no 
other way, it will be in vain for you ; it will not profit 
you \ and take heed lest you suppose you embrace this 
way, when indeed you do not. 

4. This way is free and open to sinners. He that fled 
to the city of refuge might well have many perplexed 
thoughts whether he should find the gates of it opened 
to him or not, and whether the avenger of blood might 
not overtake and slay him whilst he was calling for en- 
trance. Or, if the gates were always open, yet some 
€ rimes excluded men. Numb. 35 : 24. It is not so 
here. Acts, 13 : 38, 39. 

This is the voice of God, even the Father : Come, 
saith he, to the marriage, for all things are prepared, no 
fear of want of entertainment. Matt. 22 : 4. Whence 
the preachers of the Gospel are said, in his stead, to be- 
seech men to be reconciled, 2 Cor. 5 : 20. And it is the 
voice of the Son : Whosoever cometh to God by me, I 
will in no wise cast out, John, 6 : 37. And this is the 
voice of the Spirit, and of the church, and of all believers, 
Key. 22 : 17, ? ' The Spirit and the bride say come $ and 



252 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

let him that heareth say, Come \ and let him that is 
athirst come \ and whosoever will, let him take the 
water of life freely." All centre in this, that sinners 
may come freely to the grace of the Gospel. And it is 
the voice of all the saints in heaven and earth who have 
been made partakers of forgiveness, they all testify 
that they received it freely. 

Some indeed endeavor to abuse this concurrent tes- 
timony of God and man. What is spoken of the freedom 
of the grace of God they would wrest to the power of 
the will of man. But the riches and freedom of God's 
mercy do not in the least interfere with the efficacy of 
his grace. Though he proclaim pardon in the blood of 
Christ indefinitely, according to the fullness and excel- 
lency of it, yet he giveth out his quickening grace, to en- 
able men to receive it, as he pleaseth \ for he hath mer- 
cy on whom he will have mercy : but this lies in the 
thing itself \ the way is open and prepared : and it is not 
because men cannot enter, but because they will not, 
that they do not enter. As our Savior tells the Phari- 
sees, " Ye therefore hear not God's word, because ye 
are not of God." John, 8 : 47. So he saith, " Ye will 
not come to me that ye may have life." John, 5 : 40. 
In the neglect and inadvertency of the most excusable, 
there is a positive act of their will put forth in refusing 
Christ, and grace by him ; and this is done by men un- 
der the preaching of the Gospel every day. There is no- 
thing that, at the last day, will tend more immediately 
to the advancement of the glory of God, in the inexcu- 
sableness of those who obey not the Gospel, than this, 
that terms of peace, in the blessed way of forgiveness, 
were freely tendered to them. Some that read or hear 
this word may perhaps have lived long under the dis- 
pensation of the word of grace, and yet, it may be, have 
never once seriously considered this way of coming to 
God by forgiveness through the blood of Christ \ but 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 253 

they think, that going to heaven is a thing of course, 
which men need not much trouble themselves about. Do 
they know what they have done 1 Hitherto all their days 
they have positively refused the salvation that has been 
freely tendered to them in Jesus Christ. " Not we," 
they will say, tf we never had such a thought, nor would 
for all this world." Be it known unto you, inasmuch as 
you have not effectually received him, you have refused 
him ; and whether your day and season be passed or not, 
the Lord only knows. 

5. This way is safe. No soul ever failed in it. There 
is none in heaven but will say it is a safe way ; there 
is none in hell can say otherwise. It is safe to all that 
venture on it, so as to enter it. In the old way, we were 
to preserve ourselves and the way. This preserves itself 
and us. This is the way which, in the wisdom and love 
of God in Christ, was provided in the room of another, 
removed out of the way, because it was not safe, nor 
could bring us unto God. And here observe, 

He tells us the first covenant was not faultless ; for had 
it been, there would have been no need of a second. Heb. 
8 : 7, 8. The commandment, indeed, which was the 
matter of that covenant, the same apostle informs us to 
be holy, just and good. Rom. 7 : 12. But it was faulty 
to all ends of a covenant : considering our state as 
sinners, it could not bring us to God. So he acquaints 
us, " It was made weak through the flesh," Rom. 8 : 3, 
that is, by the entrance of sin, and so became useless 
as to the saving of souls. Be it so then ; through our 
sin and default, this good and holy law, this covenant, 
was made unprofitable to us : but what was that to God 1 
Was he bound to desert his own institution and appoint- 
ment, because, through our own default, it ceased to be 
profitable to us 1 Not at all \ he might righteously have 
bound us all to the terms of that covenant, to stand or 
fall by them to eternity ; yet he would not do so, 



214 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

In his love and grace he finds fault with it, Heb. 8 : 8, 
not in itself and absolutely, but only so far as that he 
would provide another way, which should supply all its 
defects in reference to the end aimed at. What way that 
is, the apostle declares in the following verses. The 
sum is, ver. 12, " I will be merciful to their unrighte- 
ousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remem- 
ber no more." It is the way of pardon and forgiveness. 
This is substituted in the room of that insufficient way 
that w 7 as removed. 

Let us consider, then, whether the infinitely wise and 
holy God, pursuing his purpose of bringing souls to 
himself, laying aside one way of his own appointment 
as unavailing because of the coming in of sin, against 
which there was no relief found in it, and substituting 
another way in the room of it, would not provide such 
a one as should be absolutely free from the faults which 
he charged upon that which he removed. That which 
alone rendered the former way faulty was sin : it could 
do any thing but save a sinner : this then was to be, and 
is principally provided against in this way of forgive- 
ness. And we see here how clearly God hath severed, 
yea, and in this matter opposed these two things ; 
namely, the way of personal righteousness, and the 
way of forgiveness. He finds fault with the first ; what 
course does he then take % Does he mend it, take from 
it what seems to be redundant, mitigate its severity, 
and supply it where it is wanting by forgiveness, and so 
set it up anew! This, indeed, is the way that many 
proceed in their notions, and the most in their practice. 
But this is not the way of God; he takes one utterly 
away and establishes the other in its place ; and men's 
endeavors to mix them will be found of little use to 
them at the last. I can have no great expectation from 
that which God pronounced faulty. 

Also, the unchangeable principles and foundations 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 255 

that this way is built upon, render it secure and safe 
for sinners j for, 1. It is founded on the purpose of 
God, r The Scripture foreseeing that God would jus- 
tify the heathen through faith." Gal. 3 : 8. God would 
do so, he had purposed and determined to proceed this 
way ; and all the purposes of God are attended with 
immutability. 2. His promise also is engaged in it, 
and that given out in the way of a covenant, as has 
been already declared. And, 3. This promise is con- 
firmed by an oath ; and it may be observed that God 
doth not in any thing interpose with an oath, but what 
relates to this way of coming to himself by forgiveness. 
For the oath of God, wherever it is used, respecteth 
either Christ typically or personally, or the covenant 
established in him : for, 4. This way is confirmed and 
ratified in his blood ; from whence the apostle at large 
evinceth its absolute security and safety. Heb. 9. What* 
ever soul, then, on the invitation under consideration, 
shall give up himself to come to God by the way proposed, 
he shall assuredly find absolute peace and security in it. 
Neither our own weakness from within, nor the oppo- 
sition of any or all our enemies from without, shall be 
able to turn us out of this way. See Isa. 35 : 4-10. 

In the other way of salvation by our good deeds, 
every individual stands upon his own foundation, and 
must do so to the last and utmost of his continuance 
in this world. You are desirous to go to God, to obtain 
his favor, and come to an enjoyment of him. What 
will you do 1 what course will you fix upon for obtain- 
ing these ends % If you were so holy, so perfect, so righ- 
teous, so free from sin, as you could desire, you should 
have some boldness in going to God. But if this be the 
way you choose, then remember, you stand upon your 
own personal account all your days, and if you fail 
in the least, you are gone for ever : for " whosoever 
shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, 



256 FORGIVENESS OF SIN*. 

he is guilty of all." James, 2 : 10. And what peace 
can you possibly obtain whilst this is your condition % 
But in the way of forgiveness we all stand upon the 
account of one common Mediator, in whom we are com- 
plete. Col. 2 : 10. And the w T ant of a due improvement 
of this truth is a source of discomfort to many souls. 
Suppose a man to look upon himself as loosed from the 
covenant of works, wherein exact and perfect righte- 
ousness is rigidly required 5 and to be called to Gospel, 
evangelical obedience, to be performed in the room 
thereof, in sincerity and integrity : yet if he must stand 
in this way purely on his own account, he will never 
be able to make his comfort hold out to the end of his 
journey. There will be found in the best of men so 
many particular failings as to impeach their integrity; 
and so many questionings will arise, through the dark- 
ness of their minds and power of their temptations, as 
will give but little rest to their souls. Here lies the 
great security of this way ; we abide in it on account 
of the faithfulness and ability of our common Mediator , 
Jesus Christ. 

This is another consideration, strengthening our in- 
vitation to close with the true way of coming to God. 
There is nothing wanting that is needful to give infalli- 
ble security to any soul that shall venture himself upon 
it. There are terms of peace proposed. These terms 
are excellent and holy, and chosen of God, tending to 
his glory, free and safe to sinners. What has any soul 
in the world to object against them 1 and in what do 
men repose their trust and confidence, while neglecting 
this great salvation 1 Is it in their lusts and sins, that 
they will yield them as much satisfaction as they shall 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 257 

desire 1 Alas ! they will ruin them and bring forth no- 
thing but death. Is it in the world] it will deceive 
them i the fashion of it passeth away. Is it in their 
duties and righteousness! they will not relieve them, 
for did they follow the law of righteousness they could 
not obtain the righteousness of the law. Is it in the 
continuance of their life 1 Alas! it is but a shadowj a 
vapor that appeareth for a little while. Is it in a future 
amendment and repentance 1 Hell is full of souls perish- 
ing under such resolutions. Only this way of pardon 
remains, and yet of all others it is most despised,. I 
have one more consideration here to add. 

6. Consider that this is the only way to enable you to 
obedience, and to render what you do acceptable to 
God. It may be that you are under the power of con- 
victions, and have made engagements with God to live 
to him, to keep yourself from sin, and to follow after 
holiness. It may be you have done so in afflictions, 
dangers, sicknesses, or on the receipt of mercies ; but 
yet you find that you cannot come to stability or con- 
stancy in your course. You break with God and your 
own soul, which fills you with new disquiet, or else 
hardens you and makes you secure and negligent ; so 
that you return to your purpose no oftener than con- 
victions or afflictions befall you anew. This condition 
is ruinous, which nothing can deliver you from but 
closing with forgiveness. For, 

All that you do without this, however it may please 
your mind or ease your conscience, is not at all accepted 
with God. Unless this foundation be laid, all that you 
do is lost ; all your prayers, all your duties are an 
abomination to the Lord. Until peace is made with 



258 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

him, they are but the acts of enemies, which he de- 
spises and abhors 5 you run, it may be, earnestly, but 
you run out of the way ; you strive, but not lawfully, 
and shall never receive the crown. True Gospel obe- 
dience is the fruit of the faith of forgiveness ; whatever 
you do without it, is but a building without a founda- 
tion, a castle in the air. You may see the order of Gos- 
pel obedience, Eph. 2 : 7-10. The foundation must be 
laid in grace \ riches of grace by Christ, in the free par- 
don and forgiveness of sin. From hence must the 
works of obedience proceed, if you would have them 
to be of God's appointment, or find acceptance with 
him. Without this, God will say of all your services, 
worship, obedience, as he did to the Israelites of old, 
Amos, 5 : 21-25, I despise it all, reject it all. It is not 
to him, nor to his glory. Nov/, if you are under con- 
victions of any sort, there is nothing you more value, 
nothing you more place your confidence in, than your 
duties, your repentance, your amendment, what you do, 
and what in good time you will be. Are you not con- 
scious that you would be greatly unwilling to lose all 
the hopes and all expectations which you have from 
hence 1 to have no other reception with God, than if all 
this while you had been wallowing in your sins 1 Yet 
thus it is with you, if you have not begun with God on 
his own terms. If you have not received the atonement 
in the blood of his Son, if you are not made partakers 
of forgiveness, if your persons are not pardoned, all 
your duties are accursed. 

This alone will supply such motives and encourage- 
ments to obedience as will give you life and delight in 
it. You perform duties, but it is with heaviness, fear, 



EXHORTATION TO EELIEVE. 259 

and in bondage. If you could do as well without them 
as with them ; if conscience would be quiet, and hope 
of eternity hold out, you would omit them for ever. 
This makes all your obedience burdensome, and you cry 
out in your thoughts, " Behold, what a weariness is it V 1 
The service of God is the only drudgery of your lives 
which you dare not omit, and delight not to perform. 
From this wretched frame nothing can deliver you but 
this closing with forgiveness. This will give you such 
motives, such encouragements as will greatly influence 
you. It will give you freedom and cheerfulness in all 
duties of Gospel obedience. You will find a constrain- 
ing pow r er in the love of Christ ; a freedom from bon- 
dage, when the Son truly hath made you free. Faith 
and love w r ill work genuinely and naturally in your spi- 
rits ) and that which was your greatest burden will be- 
come your chief joy. 2 Cor. & : 1* Thoughts of the love 
of God, of the blood of Christ, of the covenant of grace, 
and sense of pardon in them, will enlarge your hearts 
and sweeten all your duties. You will find a new life, 
a new pleasure, a new satisfaction, in all that you do. 
Have you yet ever understood the saying of the wise 
man, Prov. 3 : 17, <? The ways of wisdom are pleasant- 
ness, and her paths are peace 1" Have the ways of 
holiness, of obedience, of duty, been so to you! What- 
ever you pretend, they are not, they cannot be so 
whilst you are strangers to that which alone can render 
them so to you. I speak to them that are under the 
law. Would you be free from that bondage, that galling 
yoke in duties of obedience ! Would you have all that 
you do towards God a delight and pleasantness to you 1 
This, and this alone, will effect it» 



260 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

This will place all your obedience on a sure and right 
basis; even the same that is fixed on in the Gospel. 
For the present, all that you do is indeed but to com- 
pound with God for your sin $ you hope, by what you 
do for him and to him, to buy off what you have done 
against him, that you may not fall into the hands of his 
wrath and vengeance. This makes all you do to be irk- 
some. As a man that labors all his days to pay an old 
debt, and brings in nothing to lay up for himself, how 
tedious and wearisome is his toil ! It is likely that by 
and by he will give over, and run away from his credi- 
tor. So it is in this case: men who have secret re- 
serves of recompensing God by their obedience, every 
day find their debt growing upon them, and have every 
day less hope of making a satisfactory payment. This 
makes them weary, and for the most part they faint 
under their discouragements, and at length they fly 
wholly from God. This way alone will give peace to 
your conscience : it will give you to see that all your 
debts are paid by Christ, and freely forgiven to you by 
God. So that what you do is of gratitude or thank- 
fulness, and leads to the glory of God, the honor of 
Christ, and your own comfortable account at the last 
day. This encourages the soul to labor, to trade, to 
endeavor ; all things now conspire to his spiritual 
advantage. 

This is the sum of what has been said : the obedience 
that you perform under your convictions is burdensome 
and unpleasant to you ; and it is altogether unaccepta- 
ble to God. You lose all you do, and all that you hope 
to do hereafter, if the foundation be not laid in the re- 
ceiving of pardon in the blood of Christ. It is high time 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 261 

to cast down all that vain and imaginary fabric which 
you have heen erecting, and to go about laying a new 
foundation which you may safely and cheerfully build 
upon j a building that will abide for ever. 

Again, it is a way so excellent, so precious, so near 
the heart of God, so relating to the blood of Christ, that 
the neglect of it will assuredly be sorely revenged of the 
Lord. Let not men think that they may despise the 
wisdom and love of the Father, the blood of the Son, 
and the promises of the Gospel with impunity. Let us, 
in few words, take a view of what the Holy Ghost 
speaks to this purpose. There are three ways whereby 
the vengeance due to the neglect of closing with for- 
giveness or gospel-grace is expressed. 

It is done positively; " He that believeth not shall be 
damned." Mark, 16 : 16. That is a hard word ; many 
men cannot endure to hear it. They would not have it 
named, and are ready to fly in the face of him from 
whose mouth it proceeds. But let not men deceive 
themselves, this is the softest word that mercy, and 
love itself, that Christ, that the Gospel speaks to de- 
spisers of forgiveness. It is Christ who is this legal 
terrifying preacher ; ' it is he who cries out, " If you 
believe not, ye shall be damned ;" and he will come 
himself in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that 
obey not the Gospel. 2 Thess. 1 : S. This is the end of 
the disobedient, if God, if Christ, if the Gospel may be 
believed. 

The penalty of this unbelief is contrasted with the 
vengeance due to the breach of the law. We are, in 
the preaching of forgiveness by Christ, to them that 
perish, a savor of death unto death ; 2 Cor. 2: 16; a 



262 FORGIVENESS OF Sift. 

deep death, a sore condemnation ; so, Heb. 10 : 29, M Of 
how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be 
thought worthy 1" Sorer than ever was threatened by 
the law, or inflicted for the breach of it ; not as to the 
kind, but the degree of punishment. Hence arises the 
addition of many stripes. 

It is also expressed byway of admiration at the inex- 
pressibleness and unavoidableness of the punishment 
due to such sinners ; " How shall we escape, if we neg- 
lect so great salvation V Heb. 2 : 3. Surely if there is 
no way for men to escape, they shall unavoidably perish 
who neglect so great salvation. So the Holy Ghost 
says, " What shall be the end of them that obey not the 
Gospel V 1 Pet. 4: 17. What understanding can reach 
to an apprehension of their miserable and woful condi- 
tion 1 None can, saith the Holy Ghost ; nor can it be 
spoken to their capacity ; ah ! what shall be their end 1 
There remains nothing but a " certain fearful looking 
for of judgment and fiery indignation, that' shall con- 
sume the adversaries." Heb. 10 : 27. A certain fearful 
expectation of astonishing things that cannot be com- 
prehended. 

In view of what has been said, let us now a little con- 
fer together with the words of truth and sobriety. I 
speak to such poor souls, as, having deceived them- 
selves or neglected utterly their eternal condition, 
are not as yet really, and in truth, made partakers of 
this forgiveness. Your present state is sad and deplor- 
able; there is nothing but the woful uncertainty of a 
dying life between you and eternal ruin. The persua- 
sion you have of forgiveness is good for nothing but to 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 263 

harden you, and destroy you ; it is not the forgiveness 
that is with God, nor have you taken it up on gospel- 
graunds or evidences. You have stolen painted beads, 
and take yourselves to be lawful possessors of pearls 
and jewels. As you are, then, any way concerned in 
your own eternal condition, into which you are entering,. 
(and how soon you shall be in it you know not,) pre- 
vail with yourselves to attend a little to the exhortation 
that lies before you. It is your own business that you 
are entreated to have regard to. 

1. Consider seriously on what you are founding your 
hopes and expectations for eternity. Great men, and 
wise in other things, are here very apt to deceive them- 
selves. They suppose they think and believe very dif- 
ferently from what they do, as their cry at the last dny 
will manifest. Give your attention a little to the sub- 
ject. Do you seriously think of these things] Or, are 
you so under the power of ignorance and darkness that 
you neglect and despise theml Or, do you rise up and 
lie down, and perform some duties, or neglect them, 
with great coldness, remissness, and indifference of 
spirit, like Gallio, not much caring for these things 1 
Or, do you relieve yourselves with hopes of future 
amendment, purposing that, if you live, you will be 
other persons than you are, when such and such things 
are accomplished 1 Or, do you not hope well in general 
on account of what you have done and will do % If any 
of these be your condition, it is unspeakably miserable. 
You lie down and rise up .under the wrath of the great 
God, who will prevail at last, and there shall be none 
to deliver. If you say, Nay, this is not our state, we 
rely on mercy and forgiveness : then let me, in the 



264 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

fear of the great God, entreat a few things yet further 
of you. 

2. That you would seriously consider whether the 
forgiveness you rest on, and hope in, be true gospel-for- 
giveness which we have described % or is it only a 
general apprehension of impunity though you are sin- 
ners: that God is merciful, and you hope that you shall 
escape the vengeance of hell fire] If it be thus with 
you, forgiveness itself will not relieve you. Gospel par- 
don is a thing of another nature : it hath its spring in 
the gracious heart of the Father ; is made out by a sove- 
reign act of his will ; rendered consistent with the glory 
of his justice and holiness by the blood of Christ ; by 
which it is purchased in the covenant of grace. If you 
say, Yea, this is the forgiveness we rely upon, it is that 
which you have described ; then I desire further, that 
you would, 

3. Examine your own hearts how yon came to have 
an interest in this forgiveness, to close with it, and to 
have a right to it. A man may deceive himself as effec- 
tually by supposing that true riches are his when they 
are not, as by supposing his false and counterfeit money 
to be good and current ; how, then, came you to be in- 
terested in this gospel-forgiveness] If it hath come to 
you, you know not how ; if a lifeless, barren, inopera- 
tive persuasion of it hath crept upon your minds ; be 
not mistaken, God will come and require his forgiveness 
at your hand, and it shall appear that you have had no 
part nor portion in it. If you shall say, Nay, but we 
were convinced of sin, and rendered exceedingly unquiet 
in our consciences, and on that account looked out after 
forgiveness, which hath given us rest ; then I desire, 






EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 265 

is. That you would diligently consider to what ends 
and purposes you have received and do make use of 
this gospel-forgiveness. Hath it been to make up what 
was wanting, and to get quiet in your own consciences! 
that, whereas you could not answer your convictions 
with your duties, you would seek for relief from for- 
giveness. This, and innumerable other ways there are 
whereby men may lose their souls when they think all 
is well with them. Whence is that caution of the apos- 
tle, "Looking diligently, lest any one should seem to 
fail, or come short of the grace of God." Heb. 12 : 15. 
Men come short of it, when they pretend themselves to 
be in pursuit of it ; yea, to have overtaken and possessed 
it. Now, if any of these should prove to be your con- 
dition, I desire, 

5. That you would consider seriously whether it be 
not high time for you to look out for a way of deliver* 
ance and escape, that you may save yourselves from this 
evil world and fly from the wrath to come. The Judge 
stands at the door. Before he deal with you as a judge, 
he knocks with a tender of mercy. Who knows but 
this may be the last time! Be you old or young, you 
have but your season, but your day j it may perhaps be 
night with you when it is day with the rest of the 
world. Your sun may go down at noon ; and God may 
swear, that you shall not enter into his rest. If you are 
then resolved to continue in your present condition, I 
have no more to say. I am pure from your blood, in 
that I have declared to you the counsel of God ; and so 
I must leave you to an exposed trial between the great 
God and your souls at the last day. Poor creatures ! 
I tremble even to think how he will tear you in pieces 3 

Forgiveness. 12 



266 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

when there shall be none to deliver. Methinks I see 
your poor, destitute, forlorn souls, forsaken of the plea- 
sures of sin, of the world, friends, angels, men, trem- 
bling before the throne of God, full of horror and fear- 
ful expectation of the dreadful sentence. O that I could 
mourn over you so as to prevail with you, whilst you 
are yet joined to all the living ; while there is yet hope. 
O that in this your day you knew the things of your 
peace! 

If you say, Nay, but we will seek the Lord whilst he 
may be found, we will draw nigh to him before he cause 
darkness; then consider, I pray, 

6. What Joshua told the children of Israel when they 
formed such a resolution and cried out, " We will serve 
the Lord our God." chap. 24« : 18. "Ye cannot serve 
the Lord for he. is an holy God y a jealous God, he will not 
forgive your transgressions nor your sins." If you go to 
him upon your own account, and in your own strength, 
with your own best endeavors and duties, you will find 
him too holy for you to deal with. You will obtain 
neither acceptance of your persons nor pardon of your 
sins. But you will say, These are heavy tidings. If 
we sit still, we perish ; and if we rise to be doing, it 
will not be better ; is there no hope left for our souls 1 
must we pine away under our sins, and the wrath of 
God for ever! God forbid. There are yet other direc- 
tions remaining, to guide you out of these entangle- 
ments. Wherefore, 

7. Ponder seriously on what has been spoken of this 
way of approaching to God. Consider it in its own na- 
ture as to ail the ends and purposes for which it is propos- 
ed of God. Consider whether you approve of it or not. 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE* 267 

Do you judge it a way fitted to bring glory to God 1 Doth 
it answer all the wants and distresses of your souls % Do 
you think it excellent, safe and glorious to those who 
have entered it] Or, have you any thing to object 
against it 1 Keturn your answer to Him in whose name 
and by whose appointment these words are spoken to 
you. If you say, We are convinced that this way of for- 
giveness is the only way for the relief and deliverance 
of our souls, then, ' . 

8. Abhor yourselves for all your blindness and obsti- 
nacy whereby you have hitherto despised the love of 
God, the blood of Christ, and the tenders of pardon in 
the Gospel. Be abased and humbled to the dust in a 
sense of your vileness. And, 

9. Labor to exercise your hearts greatly with thoughts 
of that abundant grace which is manifested in this way of 
sinners coming to God ; as also, of the excellency of the 
Gospel wherein it is unfolded. Consider the eternal love 
of the Father, which is the fountain and spring of this 
whole dispensation ; the inexpressible love of the Son, 
in establishing and confirming it, in removing all bin- 
derances and obstructions by his own blood, bringing 
forth to beauty and glory this redemption or forgive- 
ness of sin. And let the glory of the Gospel, which 
alone makes this discovery of forgiveness in God, dwell 
in your hearts. Let your mind be exercised about these 
things. You will find effects from them above all that 
hath as yet been wrought in your souls. What for the 
most part have you hitherto been conversant about 1 
When you have risen above the turmoil of lusts and 
corruptions in your hearts, the entanglements of your 
callings, business and affairs, what have you been able 



268 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

to raise your hearts tol Perplexing fears about your 
condition, general hopes, without savor or relish, yield- 
ing you no refreshment; legal commands, bondage du- 
ties, distracted consciences, broken purposes and prom- 
ises by which you have been tossed up and down with- 
out any certain rest. And what effects have these 
thoughts produced! Have they made you more holy 
and more humble 1 Have they given you delight in God 
and strength to new obedience 1 Not at all. Where you 
were, there you still are, without the least progress. 
But now bring your souls to these springs, and try the 
Lord, if from that day you be not blessed with spiritu- 
al stores. 

10. If the Lord be pleased to carry on your souls thus 
far, then stir up yourselves to choose and close with 
ihe way of forgiveness that has been revealed. Choose it 
only, choose it in the comparison with and in opposi- 
tion to all others. Say you will be for Christ, and not 
for another ; and be so accordingly. Here venture, 
here repose, here rest your souls. It is a way of peace, 
safety, holiness, beauty, strength, power, liberty and 
glory; you have the nature, the name, the love, the 
purposes, the promises, the covenant, the oath of God ; 
the love, life, death or blood, the mediation or oblation 
and intercession of Jesus Christ ; the power and effica- 
cy of the Spirit, and gospel-grace by him administered, 
to give you assurance of the excellency, the oneness, 
the safety of the way which you are choosing. 

If now the Lord shall be pleased to persuade your 
hearts to enter upon the path marked out before yon, 
and shall carry you on through the various exercises of 
it unto this exercise of true faith, God will have the 



EXHORTATION TO BELIEVE. 269 

glory, the Gospel will be exalted, and your own souls 
shall reap the eternal benefit of this exhortation. 

But now, if, notwithstanding all that has been said, all 
the invitations you have had, and the encouragements 
that have been held out to you, you will continue to des- 
pise this so great salvation, and will live and die in the 
state wherein you are \ why, then, as the prophet said to 
the wife of Jeroboam, Come near, for I am sent unto 
you with heavy tidings. I say, then, 

11. If you resolve to continue in the neglect of this 
salvation, and shall do so, then you shall be cursed of the 
Lord, with all the curses that are written in the law, and 
all the curses that are denounced against despisers of 
the Gospel. Yea, you shall be anathema mara?iaiha ; curs- 
ed in this world until the coming of the Lord ; and 
when the Lord comes, be cursed from his presence into 
everlasting destruction. Yea, all the holy angels of God 
shall curse you as the obstinate enemies of their King 
and Head, the Lord Jesus Christ : the church of Christ 
^hall curse you as despisers of that love and mercy which 
is their portion, their life, their inheritance : all the saints 
of God, all that love the Lord shall curse you and rejoice 
to see the Lord coming forth mightily, and prevailing 
against you to your everlasting ruin. Why should any 
one have a thought of compassion towards those who 
despise the compassion of God 1 or of mercy towards 
those who trample on the blood of Christ 1 Whilst there 
is yet hope, we desire to have continual sorrow for 
you ; and to travail in soul for your conversion to 
God ; but if you be hardened in your way, shall we join 
with you against him 1 shall we prefer you above his 
glory 1 shall we desire your salvation with the despoil- 



270 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

ing God of his honor 1 Nay, God forbid 5 we hope to 
reign and rejoice with Christ, even while we see all 
that vengeance and indignation that is in the right 
hand of God, poured out unto eternity upon your 
souls, Prov. 1 : 21-33. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



BtfLES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 

That which remains, according to the plan of this 
treatise, is to persuade souls, more or less entangled i» 
the depths of sin, to close with this forgiveness by be- 
lieving unto their peace and consolation. And because 
such persons are full of pleas and objections against 
themselves, I shall chiefly, in what I have to say, en- 
deavor to obviate these objections, and thus to encou- 
rage both distressed and doubting souls to believe, and 
bring them to the establishment and consolation which 
our subject affords. And I shall, 

First, lay down such general rules as are necessary 
to be observed by all who intend to come to gospel- 
peace and comfort. And, 

Secondly, consider some such objections as seem to 
be most comprehensive of those special reasonings 
wherewith distressed persons usually entangle them- 
selves. 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS* 271 

I shall begin with general rules, which, through tke 
grace of Christ and supplies of his Spirit, may be of 
use to unbelievers in the condition under considera- 
tion. 

Rule I. Be not judges of your own condition, but let 

Christ judge. 

You are invited to take the comfort of this gospel- 
truth, that there is forgiveness with God. You say it 
is not for you : so said Jacob, " My way is hid from 
the Lord," Isa. 40 : 27; and Zion said so too, chap. 49 : 
14, " The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath 
forgotten me." But did they make a right judgment of 
themselves \ We find in those places that God was 
otherwise minded. This false judgment made hy souls 
in their entanglements, of their own condition, is often 
a most unconquerable hinderance to the bettering of it : 
they fill themselves with thoughts of their own about if, 
and on them they dwell, instead of looking out for a 
remedy. Misgiving thoughts of their diseases are a 
great part of some men's sickness. Many diseases cloud 
the thoughts, and cause misapprehensions concerning 
their own nature and danger; and those delusions are 
a real part of the person's sickness. Nature is no less 
impaired and weakened by them, the efficacy of reme- 
dies no less obstructed than by any other real disease. 
In such cases, we persuade men to acquiesce in the 
judgment of their skilful physician, not always to be 
wasting themselves by their own imaginations, and so 
despond upon their own mistakes ; but to rest in the tes- 
timony of Him who is acquainted with the causes and 
tendency of their indisposition better than themselves. 



272 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

It is often one part of the soul's depths to have false 
apprehensions of its condition. Sin is a madness. 
Eccles. 9 : 3. Madness does not sooner nor more effec- 
tually discover itself in any way than in possessing men 
with strange conceits and apprehensions of themselves. 
So does this madness of sin, according to its degrees 
and prevalence. Hence some cry, Peace, peace, when 
sudden destruction is at hand. 1 Thess. 5 : 3. It is that 
madness, under the power of which they are, which 
gives them such groundless imaginations of themselves 
and their own condition. And some say they are lost 
for ever, when God is with them. 

Do then your duty, and let Christ judge of your state. 
Your interest is too great to be committed to any other. 
When eternal welfare or wo are at stake, for a man to 
give up himself implicitly to the judgment of men fal- 
lible like himself, is stupidity 5 but there is no danger 
of being deceived by the sentence of Christ. The truth 
is, whether we will or not, he will judge ; and accord- 
ing as he determines, so shall things be found at the 
last day. John, 5 : 22. " The Father judgeth no man," 
that is, immediately, and in his own person, tr but hath 
committed all judgment unto the Son." All judgment 
that respects eternity, whether it be to be passed in this 
world or in that to come, is committed to him. Accord- 
ingly in this chapter he judgeth both of things and per- 
sons : of things, ver. 24, " He that heareth my word, 
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, 
and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed 
from death unto life." Let men say what they please, 
this sentence shall stand 5 faith and eternal life are in- 
separably conjoined. And so of persons, ver. 38, T You 



k\:les tor obtaining forgiveness. 273 

have not," saith he to the Pharisees, who were full of 
unbelief, " the word of God abiding in you." 

Take not, then, the offlce and prerogative of Christ 
out of his hand, by making a judgment from your own 
reasonings and conclusions as to your state. You will 
find that he often determines quite contrary to what 
men judge of themselves, and to what others judge of 
them. Some he judges to be in an evil condition, who 
are very confident that it is well with them, and who 
please themselves in the thought that others also think 
they are safe; and he judges the state of some to be 
good, who are diffident of themselves, and, it may be, 
despised by others. We may single out an example or 
two in each kind. 

Laodzcea's judgment of her spiritual state we have, 
Rev. 3 : 17, " I am rich, and increased with goods, and 
have need of nothing." A fair state it seems, a blessed 
condition ! She wants nothing that may contribute to 
her rest, peace, and reputation ; she is orthodox, and 
numerous, and flourishing ; makes a fair profession, and 
all is well within. So she believes, so she reports of her- 
self $ wherein there is a secret reflection also upon 
others whom she despises. Let them shift as they list, 
I am as I say. But was it so with her indeed 1 was 
that her true condition, of which she was so confident 
as to profess it unto all ] Let Jesus Christ be heard in 
this cause, let him come and judge : f? Thus saith the 
Amen, the faithful and true Witness." Coming to 
give sentence in a case of this importance, he gives 
himself this title, that we may know his word is to 
be acquiesced in. Every man, saith he, is a liar ; their 

testimony is of no value, let them pronounce what they 

1 2* 



274 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

will of themselves or of one another : " I am the Amen \ 
and I will see whose word shall stand, mine or theirs." 
What then saith he of Laodiceal " Thou art wretched, 
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Oh 
woful and sad disappointment! Oh dreadful surprisal! 
Ah ! how many Laodicean churches have we in the 
world ! How many professors are members of these 
churches ! not to mention the generality of men that 
live under the means of grace, who all have good hopes 
of their eternal condition, while they are despised and 
abhorred by the only Judge. Among professors them- 
selves, it is dreadful to think how many will be found 
light when they come to be weighed in this balance. 
Again, he judges some to be in a good condition, be 
they themselves ever so diffident : saith he to the church 
of Smyrna, " I know thy poverty." Eev. 2 : 9. Smyrna 
was complaining that she was a poor contemptible peo- 
ple, not fit for him to take any notice of. Well, saith 
he, fear not ; I know thy poverty whereof thou corn- 
plainest : "but thou art rich 5" that is my judgment, 
testimony and sentence concerning thee and thy condi- 
tion. Such will be his judgment at the last day, when 
both those on the one hand and the other shall be sur- 
prised with his sentence : the one with joy at the 
riches of his grace, the other with terror at the severi- 
ty of his justice. Matt. 25 : 37-39, and 44, 45. In Isaiah, 
49 : 14, " Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me :" 
that is her judgment of herself, and of her state ; a sad 
report and conclusion. But doth Christ agree with her 
in this sentence 1 The next verse gives us his resolu- 
tion of this matter : r< Can a woman forget her suck- 
ing child, that she should not have compassion on 



EULES FOR OBTAINING FOfcGrVEX&SS. 275 

the son of her wombl yea, they may forget, yet will 
I not forget thee." The state of things in truth, is as 
much otherwise as can possibly be thought or imagined 

To what purpose is it for men to be passing a judg- 
ment on themselves, when there is no manner of cer- 
tainty in their determinations, and when their proceed- 
ings will probably lead them to further entanglements, 
if not to eternal ruin. The judging of souls, as to their 
spiritual state, is the work of Jesus Christ; especially 
as to the end now under inquiry. Men may, men do 
take many ways to make a judgment .of themselves. 
Some do it on slight and trivial conjectures ; some on 
bold and wicked presumptions , some on desperate 
atheistical notions, as Deut. 29 : 19 5 some, with more 
sobriety and sense of eternity, lay down principles, it 
may be, good and true in themselves ; and from them 
they draw conclusions, arguing from one thing to 
another, and in the end either deceive themselves, or 
sit down no less in the dark than they w r ere at first. A 
man's judgment from his own reasonings is seldom 
true, more seldom permanent. I speak not of self-ex- 
amination with a due discussion of graces and actions, 
but of the final sentence as to state and condition 
in which the soul is to acquiesce. This belongs to 
Christ. 

Now, there are two ways whereby the Lord Jesus 
Christ gives forth his sentence in this matter. 

1. By his word. He determines, in the word of the 
Gospel, the state of all men. Each individual coming 
to that word, receives his own sentence and doom ; he 
told the Jews that Moses accused them, John, 5 : 45, 
Ms law accused and condemned the transgressors of it. 



276 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

And so does he acquit every one that is discharged by 
the word of the Gospel. What we have to do is to re- 
ceive by faith his sentence in the word. His process 
herein we have recorded : " His soul," that is, of the sin- 
ner, " draweth near to the grave, and his life to the de- 
stroyers." This seems to be his state; it is so indeed : 
he is at the very brink of the grave and hell. What 
then 1 why, if there be with him (or stand over him, in 
the Hebrew) the angel interpreting, or the angel of the 
covenant, who alone is the One of a thousand, what 
shall he do % He shall show to him his uprightness. 
Job, 33 : 22, 23. He shall give him aright determination 
of his interest in God, and of the state of his heart to- 
wards God : whereupon God shall speak peace to his 
soul, and deliver him from his entanglements, ver. 24*. 
Jesus Christ has, in the word of the Gospel, stated the 
condition of every man. He tells us that sinners, of 
what sort soever they are, who believe, are accepted 
with him, and shall receive forgiveness from God, and 
that none shall be refused or cast off that come to God 
by him. The soul of whom we are treating is now up- 
on the work of coming to God for forgiveness by Jesus 
Christ. Many and weighty objections it hath in and 
against itself why it should not come, why it shall not 
be accepted. Our Lord Jesus, the Wisdom of God, fore- 
saw all these objections; he knew what could be said 
in the case. In general, men's arguings against them- 
selves arise from sin and the law. Christ knows what is 
in both. He tried them to the uttermost, as to their penal- 
ties : and yet he hath so determined as we have showed. 
Particular objections also arise from the consideration 
of particular sinsj their greatness, their number, their 



RULES FOR CETAINING FORGIVENESS. 277 

aggravations : Christ knows all these also ; and declares 
that he that believes shall be forgiven ] and it is meet 
his word should stand. I know, when a soul brings it- 
self to be judged by the word of the Gospel, it does not 
always equally receive and rest in the sentence given. 
But when Christ is pleased to speak the word with 
power to men, they shall hear the voice of the Son of 
God, and be comforted by it. Let the soul, then, that 
is rising out of depths, and pressing towards a sense of 
forgiveness, lay itself down before the word of Christ 
in the Gospel. Let him attend to whatOhrist speaks; 
and if, for a while, it has not power to quiet his heart, 
let him wait a season, and light shall arise to him out 
of darkness. Christ will give his sentence into his con- 
science with such power and efficacy that he shall find 
rest and peace in it. 

2. Christ also judgeth by his Spirit: not only in 
making this sentence of the Gospel to be received effec- 
tually in the soul, but by his peculiar actings upon the 
heart and soul of a believer. " We have received the 
Spirit of God that we may know the things that are free- 
ly given us of God." 1 Cor. 2:12. The Spirit of Christ 
acquaints the soul that this and that grace is from him, 
that this or that duty was performed in his strength. 
He brings to mind what at such and such times was 
wrought in men by himself, to give them support and 
relief in depths and darkness. And when it has been 
clearly discovered to the soul by the Holy Ghost, that 
any thing wrought in it or done by it has been truly 
saving, the comfort of it will abide in the midst of many 
shakings and temptations. 

3. He also, by his Spirit, bears witness with our spi- 



278 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

rits as to our state ; of which I have spoken largely 
elsewhere. 

This, then, is our first general rule and direction. 
Self-determinations concerning our spiritual condition 
are seldom right ; and mistakes in such determinations 
are exceedingly prejudicial to a soul seeking a sense of 
forgiveness. Let Christ, then, be the judge in this cas« 
hy his word and Spirit. 

Rule II. Self-condemnation and abhorrence for sin 
are consistent with gospel-justification and peace. 

Some men, strange as it may seem, have no peace, 
because they have that without which it is impossible 
they should have peace. Because they cannot but con- 
demn themselves, they cannot entertain a sense that 
God acquits them. But this is the mystery of the Gos- 
pel to which unbelief is a stranger. Nothing but faith 
can give a real subsistence to these things in the same 
soul at the same time. It is easy to learn the notion 
of it, but it is not easy to experience the power of it. 
For a man to have a sight of that within him which 
would condemn him, and for which he is troubled ; and 
at the same time to have a discovery of that without 
him which will justify him, and to rejoice therein, is 
what he is not led unto but by faith in the mystery of 
the Gospel. We are under a law for justification 
which excludes all boasting. Rom. 3 : 27. So that, though 
we have joy enough in Another, yet we may have, we 
always have, sufficient cause of humiliation in ourselves. 
The Gospel will teach a man to feel sin and believe 
righteousness at the same time. Faith will carry hea- 
ven iu one hand and hell in the other j showing the 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 279 

one deserved, the other purchased. A man may see 
enough of his own sin and folly to bring a hell of 
wrath out of heaven, and yet see Christ bring a heaven 
of blessedness out of a hell of punishment ; and these 
must needs produce verj' divers, yea, contrary effects 
and operations in the soul. And he who knows not 
how to assign them their proper duties and seasons 
must needs be perplexed. The work of self-condemna- 
tion, then, which men in these depths cannot but 
abound with, is, in the disposition of the covenant of 
grace, no way inconsistent with nor unsuited to justifi- 
cation,, and the enjoyment, through it, of peace with 
God. There may be a deep sense of sin .where there is 
no fear of hell. David w r as never more humbled for sin 
than when Nathan told him it was forgiven ; and there 
may be a view of hell as deserved, which yet the soul 
may know itself to be freed from. 

In pursuing my design, I shall briefly consider what 
we intend by gospel-assurance of forgiveness , that the 
soul may not be solicitous and perplexed about the utter 
want of that of which perhaps it is already in some en- 
joyment. 

Some men seem to place gospel-assurance in a high 
confidence of acceptance with God. They think it is in 
none but such as, if you ask them, Are you certain you 
shall be saved X have boldness, and confidence, and os- 
tentation to answer presently, Yea, I shall be saved. 
But as the blessed truth of assurance has been reproach- 
ed in the world, under such a notion of it ; so such ex- 
pressions become not those who know what it is to 
have to do with the holy God, who is a consuming fire. 
Hence some conclude that there are very few believers 



280 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

who have any assurance, because they have not this 
confidence, or are more free to mention the opposition 
they meet with than the support they enjoy. And thus 
assurance is thought to be a grace not earnestly to be 
sought after, because it is so "rarely to be obtained, 
most of the saints going to heaven well enough without 
it* But the fact is otherwise. The importance of it, 
not only as it is our life of comfort and joy, but also as 
it is the principal means of the flourishing of our life of 
holiness, has been already shown. Yea, in times of trial, 
which are the proper seasons for the effectual working 
and manifestation of assurance, it appears that, many, 
yea, that most of the saints of God are made partakers 
of this grace and privilege. 

I shall then, 1. Show what things are not only con- 
sistent with assurance, but are even necessary conco- 
mitants of it, which yet, if not duly weighed and consi- 
dered, may seem to prevent a man's comfortable per- 
suasion of his condition before God; and, 2. Speak -of 
its nature especially as manifesting itself by its effects. 

1. A deep sense of the evil of sin, and of the guilt of 
one's own sin, is no way inconsistent with gospel-assu- 
rance of acceptance with God through Christ, and of 
forgiveness in him. By a sense of the guilt of sin I 
understand two things : 1. A clear conviction of sin by 
the Holy Ghost, saying to the soul, Thou art the man ; 
and 2. A sense of the displeasure of God, or the wrath 
due to sin, according to the sentence of the law. Both 
these David expresses in that complaint, "My life is 
spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my 
strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones 
are consumed. Psalm 31 : 10. His iniquity was before 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 281 

him, and a sense of it pressed him sore. But yet, not- 
withstanding all this, he had a comfortable persuasion 
that God was his God in covenant, u l trusted in thee, 
O Lord: I said, Thou art my God. 5 ' verse 14. And 
the tenor of the covenant wherein alone God is the God 
of any person is, that he will be merciful to his iniqui- 
ty. To whom he is a God, he is so according to the 
tenor of that covenant \ so that here these two are con- 
joined. Saith he, Lord, I am pressed with the sense of 
the guilt of mine iniquities; and thou art my God, who 
forgivest them. The ground of this is, that God, by the 
Gospel, hath divided the work of the law, and taken 
part of it out of its hand. Its whole work is to con- 
demn the sin and the sinner. Tile sinner- is freed by 
the Gospel ; but the law still condemns the sin, and 
that justly. Now, though the sinner himself be freed, 
yet finding his sin condemned, it fills him with a deep 
sense of its guilt, and of the displeasure of God against 
it 5 while yet at the same time he may have such an 
insight as faith gives into his personal interest in a 
gospel-acquittance. A man then may have a deep 
sense of sin all his days, walk under the sense of it con- 
tinually, abhor himself For his ingratitude, unbelief, and 
rebellion against God, without any impeachment of his 
assurance. 

2. Deep sorrow for sin is consistent with assurance 
of forgiveness ; yea, it is a great means of preserving it. 
Godly sorrow, mourning, humiliation, contriteness of 
spirit are no less gospel-graces and fruits of the Holy 
Ghost than faith itself; and so are consistent with the 
highest flourishing of faith. It is heaven itself, and not 
the assurance of it, that will wipe all tears from our eyes* 



S82 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

Yea, these graces have the most eminent promises annex- 
ed to them ; as Isa. 57 : 15 ; 66 : 2 ; Matt. 5:4; Zech. 12 : 
10 ; so that they are assuredly consistent with any other 
grace or privilege that we may be made partakers of, 
or which are promised to us. Some feeling the weight 
and burden of their sin, and being called to mourning 
and humiliation on account of it, are so taken up with 
it as to lose the sense of forgiveness which, rightly im- 
proved, would increase their sorrow for sin, as their 
sorrow seems directly to sweeten their sense of for- 
giveness. Sorrow, absolutely exclusive of the faith of 
forgiveness, is legal, and tends to death ; assurance, ab- 
solutely exclusive of godly sorrow, is presumption, and 
not a persuasion from Him that calleth us. But gospel 
sorrow and gospel assurance may well dwell in the 
same breast at the same time. Indeed, as in worldly 
joys there is a secret wound, so in all godly sorrow 
and mourning, considered in itself, there is a secret joy 
and refreshment ; hence it doth not wither and dry up, 
but rather enlarge, open, and refresh the heart. I am 
persuaded that generally they mourn most who have 
most assurance. And all true gospel mourners will be 
found to have the root of assurance so grafted in them 
that in its proper season it will undoubtedly flourish. 

3. A deep sense of the indwelling power of sin is 
consistent with gospel-assurance. Sense of indwelling 
sin will cause manifold perplexities in the soul. Trou- 
ble, disquiet, sorrow and anguish of heart, expressing 
themselves in sighs, mourning, groaning for deliverance, 
always attend it. To what purpose do you speak to a 
soul highly sensible of the power of indwelling sin, con- 
cerning assurance 1 " Ala?," saith he, tf I am ready to 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 283 

perish every moment ; my sins are strong, active, rest- 
less, yea, outrageous ; they give me no rest, no liberty, 
and but little success do I gain in resisting them. As- 
surance is for conquerors, for them that live at rest and 
peace. I lie grovelling on the ground all my days, and 
must needs be uncertain what will be the issue." But 
when such an one hath said all he can, he will not be 
able to make more woful complaints of this than Paul 
has done before him, Rom. 7 ; and yet he closes the dis- 
course of it with as high an expression of assurance as 
any person need seek after, ver. 25, and chap. 8:1. 
But if men will think they can have no assurance, be- 
cause they have that without which it is impossible 
they should have any, it is hard to give them relief. A 
little cruse of salt of the Gospel cast into the bitter 
waters will make them sweet and wholesome. Sense 
of the guilt of sin may consist with faith of its pardon 
and forgiveness in the blood of Christ. Godly sorrow 
may dwell in the heart at the same time with joy in 
the Holy Ghost, and groaning after deliverance from 
the power of sin, at the same time with a gracious per- 
suasion that sin shall not " have dominion over us, be- 
cause we are not under the law, but grace." 

4«. Doublings, fears, temptations, if not ordinarily pre- 
vailing, are consistent with gospel-assurance. Though 
the devil's power be limited in reference to the saints, 
yet his hands are not tied; though he cannot prevail 
against them, yet he can assault them : and although 
there be not an evil heart of unbelief in believers, yet 
there will still be unbelief in their hearts. Such an 
evidence and persuasion of acceptance with God as ex- 
clude all contrary reasonings, as suffer the soul to hear 



284? FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

nothing of objections, and free and qaiet it from all 
assaults, are neither mentioned in Scripture, nor are 
they consistent with that state wherein we walk before 
God, nor possible, on account of Satan's will and ability 
to tempt, or of our own remaining unbelief. Assurance 
encourages us in our combat, it delivers us not from it. 
We may have peace with God when we have none 
from the assaults of Satan. 

Now, unless a man duly consider the tenor of the cove- 
nant wherein we walk with God, and the nature of that 
gospel-obedience which he requires at our hands, and 
our state whilst we live in this world 5 the daily sense 
of these things may keep him in the dark unto himself, 
and hinder him from that establishment in believing to 
which otherwise he might attain. On this account, 
some as holy persons as any in this world, being wholly 
taken up with the consideration of these home-bred 
perplexities, and not clearly acquainted with the way 
and tenor of assuring their souls before God, according 
to the rule o£ the covenant of grace, have passed their 
days in bondage of spirit, and without that strong con- 
solation which God is abundantly willing that all the 
heirs of promise should receive. 

Again, evangelical assurance is not a thing incapa- 
ble of variation. It may be higher or lower, greater or 
less, obscure or attended with more evidence. It is not 
quite lost when not at its height. God sometimes mar- 
vellously raises the souls of his saints by some near 
approaches to them ; gives them a sense of his eternal 
love, a taste of the embraces of his Son, and the in- 
dwelling of the Spirit, without the least intervening dis- 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 285 

turbance j then this is their assurance. But this life is 
not a season to be always taking wages in ; our work is 
not yet done, we are not always to abide in this mount ; 
we must down again into the battle, fight again, cry 
again, complain again. Shall the soul be thought now 
to have lost its assurance 1 Not at all : it had before 
assurance with joy, triumph, and exultation; it has it 
now with wrestling, cries, tears, and supplications : and 
a man's assurance may be as good, as true, when he 
lies on the earth with a sense of sin, as when he is car- 
ried up to the third heaven with a sense of love and 
foretaste of glory. In brief, this assurance of salvation 
is such a gracious evangelical persuasion of acceptance 
with God in Christ, and of an interest in the promises 
of preservation unto the end, wrought in believers by 
the Holy Ghost, in and through the exercise of faith, as, 
for the most part, produces these effects following. 

1. It gives delight in obedience, and draws out love in 
the duties that we perform to God. So much assurance 
of a blessed end of their labors and duties, and pressing 
after universal renovation of mind and life, as may make 
them cheerful and give love and delight in the pursuit 
of what they are engaged in, is needful for the saints, 
and they are not often left without it ; and where this 
is, there is gospel-assurance. To run as men uncertain, 
to fight as those that beat the air, to travel as not any 
way persuaded of a comfortable entertainment at the 
journey's end, is a state in which God does not fre- 
quently leave his people. And when he does, it is a sea- 
son wherein he receives very little glory from them, 
and they very little increase of grace in themselves. 

Many things interpose, many doubts and entangling 



286 FORGIVENESS OF SIN, 

perplexities arise, bat still a comfortable persuasion is 
kept alive that there is a rest provided, which makes 
them cheerful in their most difficult duties. This pre- 
vails in them, that their labor in the Lord, their watch- 
ing, praying, suffering, alms, fighting against tempta- 
tion, crucifying the flesh with its lusts, shall not be in 
vain. This gives them such a delight in their most diffi- 
cult duties, as men have in a hard journey towards a 
desirable home or a place of rest. 

2. It casts out tormenting fear, such as fills the soul 
with perplexing uncertainties, hard thoughts of God, 
and dreadful apprehensions of wrath to come. There 
are three things in that fear which are inconsistent 
with the assurance of forgiveness : 1. It proceeds from 
a spirit of bondage : " We have not received the spirit 
of bondage again to fear." Rom. 8 : 15. It is not such 
a fear as makes an occasional incursion upon the mind, 
such as is occasioned by incidental darkness and temp- 
tation, such as the best and most assured persons are 
liable to; but it is such a fear as has a complete abiding 
principle in the soul, even a spirit of bondage, a pre- 
vailing frame constantly inclining it to fear, or dreadful 
apprehensions of God and its own condition. 2. It tends 
to bondage, it brings the soul into bondage. Heb. 2 : 14, 
15. Christ died to deliver them, who, by fear of death, 
were in bondage ail their days. Fear of death as penal, 
as it lies in the curse, which is that fear that proceeds 
from a spirit of bondage, brings the soul into bondage ; 
that is, it adds to fear weariness, trouble, and anxiety of 
mind, and puts men upon all ways and means imagina- 
ble to seek for a remedy or relief. 3. It hath torment $ 
" fear hath torment." 1 John, 4 : 18. It gives no rest, 



RULES FOIL 03TAINING FOE GIVEN ES3. 287 

so quietness to the mind. Now, this is so cast out by 
gospel-assurance of forgiveness, that though it may as- 
sault the soul, it shall not possess it ; though it make 
incursions upon it, it shall not abide and prevail in it. 

3. It gives the soul a hope and expectation of the glory 
that shall be revealed, and supports it in sufferings and 
temptations. This is the hope which makes not ashamed, 
Rom. 5 : 5, and that because it will never expose the 
soul to disappointment. Wherever there is the root of 
assurance there will be this fruit of hope. The proper 
object of it is things absent, invisible, eternal ; the pro- 
mised reward, in all its fulness. This hope it cherishes 
in distresses, temptations, failings, and under a sense 
of the guilt and power of sin. Hence arises a spring of 
secret relief in the soul, something that claims the heart 
and quiets the spirit in the midst of many a storm. Now, 
as wherever assurance is, there will be this hope ; so 
wherever this secret relieving hope is, it grows on no 
other root but a living persuasion of a union with Christ 
and a personal interest in the things hoped for. 

4. As it will do many other things, so, that I may give 
one comprehensive instance, it will enable men even to 
die for Christ, Death to men who see not one step be- 
yond it, has been esteemed of all things most terrible : 
but this is little, compared with looking through it as a 
passage into eternity. For a man to choose death, in 
the most terrible manner of its approach, rather than 
life, expecting an eternity to ensue, argues a comfort- 
able persuasion of a good state after death. Now, I am 
persuaded that there are hundreds who, upon gospel- 
saving accounts, would embrace the stake for the testi- 
mony of Jesus, who still are unconscious that they have 



288 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

the assurance we speak of, and yet nothing else would 
enable them thereunto. 

Eule III. Continuance in waiting on God necessary 
to peace and consolation. 

Whatever be your condition, and your apprehension 
of it, yet continue waiting on God, and give not over 
through weariness or impatience. This rule contains 
the sum of the great example given us in this psalm. 
Forgiveness in God being discovered, though no sense 
of a particular interest therein is yet obtained, what the 
soul next applies itself to is diligent, careful, constant 
waiting on God, which is variously expressed in the 5th 
and 6th verses of the psalm on which our discourse is 
founded. The Holy Ghost tells us that " light is sown 
for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." 
Psalm 92 : 11. Light and gladness are the things now 
inquired after: deliverance from darkness, misappre- 
hensions of God, and misgiving thoughts of one's own 
condition. Now, saith the Holy Ghost, all this is sown 
for the righteous. Does the husbandman, after he casts 
his seed into the earth, immediately think that the next 
day, the next week, it will be harvest ] Does he think to 
reap as soon as he has sown 1 Or does he immediately 
say, I have labored in vain, here is no return, I will pull 
up the hedge of this field and lay it waste ; or, I sec a 
little grass in the blade, but no corn, I will give it to 
the beasts to devour it 7 ; No, his God, as the prophet 
speaks, instructs him to discretion, and teaches him 
what he must do, and how he must look for things in 
their season: and shall not we be instructed by him 1 
"Behold the husbandman," saith James, " waiteth for 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 289 

the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience 
for it, until he receive the earlier and the latter rain." 
James, 5:7. And is light sown for them that are in 
darkness, and shall they stifle the seed under the clods, 
or spoil the tender blade that is springing up, or refuse 
to wait for the watering and dews of the Spirit that 
may bring it forth to perfection 1 Waiting on God is 
the only way to establishment and assurance. We can- 
not speed by our haste ; yea, nothing puts the end so 
far away as making too much haste in our journey. 

The ground is, that a sense of a special interest in 
forgiveness and acceptance is given to the soul by an 
act of sovereign grace. It is not secured by any ra- 
tional conclusions or deductions that we can make. 
The peace and rest sought for come from mere prero- 
gative. ? When he giveth quietness, who can make 
trouble 1 and when he hideth his face, who can behold 
him 1" Job, 34" ; 29. Does not the nature of the thing 
require humble waiting on Godl If, then, either im- 
patience cast the soul into frowardness, or weariness 
make it slothful, which are the two ways w r hereby wait- 
ing is ruined, let not such an one expect any comfort- 
able issue of his contending for deliverance out of his 
depths. Men may indulge their own reasonings, may 
lay down propositions apparently ever so conclusive, 
and yet be far enough from that sweet consolation, joy 
and assurance which God alone can give. Yea, a man 
may sometimes gather up consolation to himself upon 
such terms, but it will not abide. David, Psalm 30 : 6, 7, 
argued that his mountain was made strong, and he 
should never be moved. But in the midst of these 
pleasing.thoughts God hides his face, and he is troubled ; 

Forgivsnesss. 1 3 



290 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

he cannot any longer draw out the sweetness of the 
conclusion mentioned. It was in him before from the 
shining of God's countenance, and not from any argu- 
ings of his own. 

No disappointment, then, no tediousness or weari- 
ness should make the soul leave off waiting on God, if 
it intend to attain consolation and establishment. So it 
was with the church : " This I recall to my mind, there- 
fore have I hope." Lam. 3:21. What is it that she 
calls to mind 1 This, " that it is of the Lord's mercy 
that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail 
not." verse 22. I will yet hope, I will yet continue in 
my expectation, on account of never-failing compassion, 
of endless mercies in him, whatever my present condi- 
tion be. And thence she makes a blessed conclusion, 
■ f It is good that a man should both hope and quietly 
wait for the salvation of the Lord." verse 26. This is 
our third rule. It is good to hope and wait, whatever 
our present condition be, and not to give over, if we 
would not be sure to fail; a duty on which the close of 
this psalm insists, and which will be further considered. 

Rule IV. Remove the hinderances of believing by a 
searching out of sin. 

Let the soul that would attain to establishment and 
consolation in believing and obedience, make thorough 
work in the search of sin, even to the sins of youth, 
that all scores on that account may clearly be wiped 
out. If there be much rubbish left in the foundation of 
the building, no wonder if it always shake and totter. 
Men's leaving any sin unsearched to the bottom, will 
poison all their consolation. David knew this, when, id 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 291 

dealing with God in his distresses, he prays that he 
would not remember the sins and transgressions of his 
youth. Psalm 25 : 7. Youth is often a time of great 
vanity and unmindfulness of God 5 many stains and 
spots are therein usually brought upon the consciences 
of men. "Childhood and youth are vanity," Eccl. 
11 : 10, not merely because they soon pass away, but 
because they are usually spent in vanity : so the advice 
in the next verse to remember God in those days indi- 
cates, chap. 12 : 1. The way of many is to put such 
things out of mind, not to walk in a sense of their folly 
and madness, and never to make a thorough work with 
God about them. I speak of the saints themselves ; for 
with others that live under the means of grace, whom 
God intends any way to make useful in their genera- 
tion, this is the usual course: by convictions, restrain- 
ing grace, afflictions, love of employment and repute, 
God gives them another heart than they had for a sea- 
son 5 another heart, but not a new heart. Hence an- 
other course of life, another profession, other actions 
than formerly do flow ; with this change they content 
themselves 5 they look on what is past perhaps with 
delight, or ss those things fit enough for those days, 
but not for those they have attained to. Here they 
rest, and therefore never come to rest. 

But I speak of the saints themselves, who make not 
such thorough, full, close work in this respect as they 
ought. An after-reckoning may come in to their own 
disturbance, and an unconquerable hinderance of their 
peace. So was it with Job, chap. 13 : 26. ' " He makes 
me to possess the iniquities of my youth." God filled 
his heart, his thoughts, his mind with these sins \ made 



292 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

them abide with him, so that he possessed them \ they 
were always present with him : he made the sins of his 
youth the sufferings of his age. And it is a sad thing, 
as one speaks, when young sins and old bones meet to- 
gether; as Zophar, "His bones are full of the sin of his 
youth." Job, 20 : 11. The joyous frame of some men's 
youth makes way for sad work in their age. Take 
heed, ye who are young : you are doing that which 
w T ill abide with you to age, if not to eternity. This pos- 
session of the sins of youth Job calls the writing of 
bitter things against him ; as indeed it is impossible but 
that sin should be bitter one time or other. God calla 
it a n root that beareth gall and wormwood." Deut. 
29:18. n A root of bitterness, springing up unto de- 
filement." Heb. 12 : 15. This, then, is to be searched 
out to the bottom. Israel will not have success nor 
peace whilst there is an Achan in the camp ; neither 
success in temptation nor consolation in believing is 
to be expected whilst any sin unrepented lies in the 
conscience. 

Let them who would seriously accomplish a diligent 
search in this matter, which is of such importance to 
them, take these two directions. 1. Let them go over 
the consideration of those sins, and others of the like 
nature, which may be reduced to the general heads 
which we have laid down as the sins which generally 
cast men into depths and entanglements. And if they 
find they have contracted the guilt of any of them, let 
them not think it strange that they are yet bewildered 
in their condition, and come short of a refreshing sense 
of peace with God, or an interest in forgiveness ; rather 
let them admire the riches of his grace and forbearance 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 293 

that they are not cast utterly out of all hope of a reco- 
very. And, 2. Let them review the course of their 
lives under such heads and seasons as may give them 
clear and distinct apprehension Gf what has occurred 
between God and their souls, that may have been pro- 
voking to him. As, 

1. For the state of their inward man, let them con- 
sider the unregeneraie part of their lives, that which 
was confessedly so before they had any real work of 
God upon their hearts, and therein inquire, 1. If there 
were then any great and signal eruptions of sins against 
God i for of such God requires that a deep sense be 
kept on our souls all our days. How often do we find 
Paul calling over the sins of his life and ways before 
his conversion! " I was," saith he, "injurious, and a 
blasphemer." Such reflections ought persons to have 
on any great provoking occasions of sin, that may keep 
them humble, and necessitate them constantly to look 
for a fresh sense of pardon, through the blood of Christ. 
If such sins lie neglected, and are not duly regarded 
and repented of, they will weaken the soul in its com- 
fort whilst it lives in this world. 2. If there were any 
signal manifestations -of the love of God to the soul, 
while it broke off from the power of its corruption and 
temptation, they require a due humbling consideration 
all our days. 

In that part of our lives which, upon the call of God, 
we have given up io him, there are two sorts of sins 
that do effectually hinder our future peace and comfort, 
which ought to be frequently reviewed and issued in 
the blood of Christ. 1. Such as, by reason of any aggra- 
vating circumstances, have been accompanied with some 



294 FORGIVENESS OF SIN, 

special unkindness towards God. Such are sins after 
warnings and communications of a sense of love, after 
particular engagements against them, relapses and omis- 
sions of great opportunities and advantages for the fur- 
therance of the glory of God in the world. These kinds 
of sins have much unkindness attending them, and will 
be searched out, if we cover them. 2. Sins attended 
with scandal towards any one or more persons, who 
may be concerned with us. The aggravation of these 
kinds of sins is usually allowed. 

2. The various outward states which we have passed 
through, as of prosperity and affliction, should, in like 
manner, come under this search and consideration. It 
is but seldom that we fill up our duty, or answer the 
mind of God in any dispensation of providence; and if 
our neglect herein be not properly considered, it will 
undoubtedly hinder and interrupt our peace. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS Continued. 

Rule V. Distinguish between Unbelief and Jealousy. 

There is a twofold unbelief. 1. That which is uni- 
versal and privative, such as is in all unregenerate per 
sons; they have no faith at all: that is, they are dead, 
and have no principle of spiritual life. This I speak not 
of 3 it is easily distinguished from every grace, being 



RITLES FOR OBTAINING FOEG1VENESS. 295 

the utter enemy and privation, as it were, of all grace. 
% There is an unbelief, partial and negative, consisting 
in a staggering at, or questioning of the promises. This 
is displeasing to God, a sin which is attended with un- 
known aggravations, though men usually indulge it in 
themselves. It is well expressed, Psalm 78 : 19, 20, 
God had promised his presence to the people in the 
wilderness, to feed, sustain, and preserve them. How 
did they entertain these promises of God] " Can he," 
say they, "give bread] Can he give flesh unto his peo- 
ple!" What great sin or offence in this inquiry] 
Why, ver. 19, this is called speaking against God: 
M They spake against God ; they said, Can he furnish a 
table in the wilderness ]" Unbelief, in questioning the 
promises, is a speaking against God, a limiting of the 
Holy One of Israel, as it is called, ver. 41 5 an assigning 
bounds to his goodness, power, and grace, according to 
what we find in ourselves 5 which he abhors. By this 
unbelief we make God like ourselves 5 that is, our limit- 
ing him, expecting no more from him than either we 
can do, or see how it may be done. This, you will say, 
was a great sin in the Israelites, because they had no 
reason to doubt or question the promises of God. But 
when they were so many thousand families that had 
not one bit of bread nor drop of water beforehand for 
themselves and their little ones, there is no doubt but 
they thought themselves to have as good reason to 
question the promises as any of you can think that you 
have. We are ready to suppose that we have all the 
reasons in the world, every one supposes he has those 
more cogent than any other has, to question the promises 
of grace, pardon, and forgiveness : and therefore the 



296 FORGIVENESS OF £IN. 

questioning of them they think is not their sin, but 
their duty. But pretend what we will, this is speaking 
against God, limiting him, and keeping ourselves from 
steadfastness and comfort. 

But there may be a jealousy in a gracious heart con- 
cerning the love of Christ, which is acceptable to him, 
at least which he is tender towards, that may be mis- 
taken for this questioning of the promises by unbelief, 
and so help to keep the soul in darkness. Love is the 
root ; but yet it bears fruit which is bitter, though it be 
wholesome ; which fills the soul with great perplexities, 
and makes it cry out for a nearer and more secure ad- 
mission into the presence of Christ: "Set me," saith 
the spouse, "as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon 
thine arm, for jealousy is cruel as the grave." I cannot 
bear this distance from thee, these fears of my being 
disregarded by thee : " Set me as a seal on thy heart." 

Now, this spiritual jealousy is the solicitude of the 
mind of a believer, who has a sincere love for Christ, 
as to the good will of Christ towards it, arising from a 
consciousness of its own unworthiness to be beloved, 
or accepted by him. All causeless jealousy arises from 
a secret sense and conviction of unworthiness, and a 
high esteem of him that is the object of it. So it is 
with this spiritual jealousy; the root of it is love, sin- 
cere love, that cannot be quenched by waters nor 
drowned by floods, ver. 7, which nothing can utterly 
prevail against. This gives the soul high thoughts of 
the glorious excellences of Christ, fills it with admira- 
tion of him ) and these are mixed with a due sense of 
its own baseness, vileness, and unworthiness to be 
owned by him, or accepted with him. Now, if these 



RULES FOIL OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 



OQ 



thoughts, on the one hand and on the other, be not 
guided aright by faith, which alone can show the soul 
liow the glory of Christ consists principally in this, that 
he, being so excellent and glorious, is pleased to love 
us with love inexpressible, who are vile and sinful ; 
questionings about the love of Christ, and those attended 
with much anxiety of mind, will arise. Now, this frame 
may sometimes be taken for questioning the promises 
of God, and that be regarded as a defect in faith which 
is an excess of love, or is, at most, such an irregular 
acting of it as the Lord Christ will be very tender to- 
wards, and which is consistent with peace and a due 
sense of the forgiveness of sins. Mistake not, then, 
these, one for another, lest much causeless unquietness 
ensue in the judgment which you are to make of your- 
selves. 

But you will say, How shall we distinguish between, 
ihis unbelief and jealousy, so as not causelessly to be 
disquieted and perplexed I I answer briefly, 

1. Unbelief, working in the questioning of the pro- 
mises of God, is weakening, disheartening, dispiriting. 
It hinders the soul in spiritual duties, and weakens it 
both as to delight and strength. The more any one ques- 
tions the promises of God, the less life, power, joy and 
delight in obedience he has. For faith is the spring and 
root of all other graces; and, according as it thrives or 
abates, so do they all. Men think sometimes that their 
uncertainty of the love of God, and of acceptance with 
him by the forgiveness of sin, urges them to the per- 
formance of many duties, as they can have no rest or 
peace in the omission of them. It may be it is so ; yea, 
this is the state and condition with many. But what are 

13* 



298 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

these duties 1 and how are they performed 1 and what 
is their acceptance with God 1 The duties themselves 
are legal both in the principle whence they proceed and 
the end to which they are used. Their principle is legal 
fear, and their end is legal righteousness; the whole at- 
tendance on them is a seeking of righteousness as il 
were by the works of the law ; and how are they per- 
formed 1 Plainly with a bondage of spirit ; without love, 
joy, liberty, or delight ; their aim is to quiet conscience, 
to pacify God ; all in opposition to the blood and righ- 
teousness of Christ. And are they accepted with God] 
Let them be multiplied ever so much, he every where 
testifies that they are abhorred by him. All questioning 
of the promises weakens and discourages the soul, and 
makes all gospel-obedience wearisome and burdensome* 

But the jealousy that is exercised about the person 
and love of Christ to the soul is quite of another na- 
ture, and produces other effects. It cheers, enlivens 
and enlarges the soul; stirs up to activity, earnestness 
and industry in its inquiries and desires after Christ. 
M Jealousy," saith the spouse, c • is cruel as the grave ;" 
therefore " set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal 
upon thy arm." It makes the soul pant after nearer and 
more assured communion with Christ ; it stirs up vigor- 
ous and active spirits in all its duties. Every doubt 
and fear it generates within concerning the love of 
Christ stirs up the soul to more earnestness after him, 
delight in him, and sedulous watching against every 
thing that may keep it at a distance from him, or occa- 
sion him to hide, withdraw, or absent himself from it, 

2. Unbelief, that works by questioning the promises, 
is universally selfish ; it begins and ends in self. Self- 



RULES FOR CBT^IIs'IKG FORGIVENESS, 



299 



love, in desires after freedom from guilt, danger and 
punishment is the life and soul of it, If this end be at- 
tained it is enough. It has no delight in God $ nor doth 
it care what way it be attained, so it may be attained. 
Many such persons have persuasions that they shall be 
freed from death and hell— be it by the works of the 
law, or by the observance of any inventions of their 
own — they are not solicitous whether or not any glory 
arises to God from his grace and faithfulness. 

The jealousy we speak of has the person of Christ 
and his excellency for its constant object. These fill 
the mind in many and various thoughts, still represent- 
ing him more and more amiable and desirable to the 
soul. So doth the spouse, upon the like occasion, as 
you may see at large, Cant. 5 ; 9-18. Being at some 
loss for his presence, (for he had withdrawn himself,) not 
finding her wonted communion and intercourse with 
him ; fearing that, upon her provocation, she might for- 
feit her interest in his love, she turns to the considera-- 
tion of all his excellences, and thereby the more inflames 
herself unto desires after his company and enjoyment. 



Rule VI. Distinguish between faith and spiritual 
sense. 

This rule the apostle gives us, " We walk by faith, 
not by sight." 2 Cor. 5:7. It is the sight of glory that 
is especially here intended. But faith and sense, in any 
kind, are clearly distinguished: that maybe "believed' 
which is not u felt j" yea, it is the will and command of 
God that faith should stand and do its work where all 
sense fails, Isa. 50 : 10. And it is with spiritual sense in 



300 -FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

this matter as it is with natural. Thomas would not he- 
lie ve unless he saw the object of his faith with his eyes 
or felt it with his hand; but, saith our Savior, " Blessed 
are they who believe and have not seen j" who believe 
upon the testimony of God without the help of their 
own sense or reason. And if we will believe no more 
of God, of his love and grace, and of our acceptance 
with him, than we have a spiritual affecting sense of, 
we shall be many times at a loss. Sensible impressions 
from God's love are great springs of joy; but they are 
not absolutely necessary to peace, nor to an evidence 
that we believe. 

We deal thus with the vilest person living; we be- 
lieve him whilst we have the certainty of our sense to 
secure us. And if we deal so with God, what is there 
in our so doing praiseworthy 1 The prophet tells us 
what it is to believe in respect of providence. Heb. 3 : 
17. When there is nothing left outward and visible to 
support us, then to rest quietly on God, that is to be- 
lieve. So Psalm 63 : 26. And the apostle, in the exam- 
ple of Abraham, shows us what it is to believe with re- 
spect to a special promise : " Against hope he believed 
in hope." Rom. 4 : 18. When he saw no outward or- 
dinary means for the accomplishment of the promise, 
when innumerable objections arose against any such 
hope as might have respect to such means, yet he re- 
solved all his thoughts into the faithfulness of God in 
the promise, and therein raised a new hope in its ac- 
complishment ; so in hope believing against hope. 

It is necessary that you observe what I intend by this 
spiritual sense, which you must learn to distinguish 
from faith ; and to know that true faith, interesting the 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 301 

soul in forgiveness, may be without it, that so you may 
not conclude there is a real want of pardon, from the 
want of the refreshing sense of it. 

Grace in general may be referred to under two heads : 
1. Our acceptance with God, or the forgiveness of sin, 
through Christ ; and, 2d. The grace of sane tin* cation from 
God in Christ. Of each of these there is a spiritual 
sense or experience to be obtained ; in both distinguished 
from faith that gives us a real interest in forgiveness. 

Of the spiritual sense that we have of acceptance 
with God there are sundry parts or degrees : to this 
belongs peace with God, " Being justified by faith, we 
have peace with God." Rom. 5 : 1. This peace is the 
rest and composure of the soul emerging out of trouble 
on account of the reconciliation made for it by the blood 
of Christ : it implies a freedom from trouble, and a rest, 
satisfaction and contentment in the condition attained. 
And this, at least the second part of it, belongs to the 
spiritual sense that we inquire after. Again, there is in 
it joy in the Holy Ghost, called "joy unspeakable and 
full of glory," ] Pet. 1:8; as also t? glorying in the 
Lord" on account of his grace, Isa. 45 : 25, with many 
like effects proceeding from a shedding abroad of the 
love of God in our hearts. Rom. 5 : 5. 

Yea, you say these are the things you aim at ; these 
are the things you would attain, and be filled with. It 
is this peace, this joy, this glorying in the Lord that 
you would always be in possession of. I say, you do 
well to desire them, to seek and labor for them ; they 
are purchased by Christ for believers : but you will do 
well to consider under what notion you desire them. If 
you look on these things as belonging to the essence 



302 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

of faith, without which you can have no real interest in 
forgiveness or acceptance with God, you greatly de- 
ceive your own soul, and put yourself out of the way 
of obtaining them. These things are not believing, no? 
adequate effects of it, so as immediately to be produced 
wherever faith is ; but they are such consequences of it 
as may or may not ensue, according to the will of God* 
Faith is a seed that contains them virtually 5 and out of 
which they may be, in due time, educed by the work- 
ing of the word and Spirit. And the way for any soul 
to be made partaker of them is to wait on the sovereign- 
ty of God's grace, who createth peace in the exercise 
of faith upon the promises. He then that would place 
believing in these things, and will not be persuaded that 
he doth believe until he is possessed of them, both loses 
the benefit and comfort of what he has; and, neglecting 
the due acting of faith, puts himself out of the way of 
attaining what he aims at. 

These things, therefore, are not needful to give you 
a real saving interest in forgiveness, as it is tendered 
in the promises of the Gospel by the blood of Christ. 
And, it may be, it is not the will of God that ever you 
should be entrusted with them. It may be, it would net 
be for your advantage so to be. Some servants must 
have their wages kept for them to the year's end, or it 
will do them no good. It may be, some persons would 
be such spendthrifts of satisfying peace and joy, and be 
so diverted by them from attending to some necessary 
duties, as humiliation, mortification, and self-abasement, 
without which their souls cannot live, that it would not 
be much to their advantage to be intrusted with them. 
It is from the same Divine care and love that peace and 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 303 

joy are detained from some believers and granted to 
others. 

You are, therefore, to receive forgiveness by a pure 
act of believing, in the way already described; and are 
not to think it is not in you, unless you have constantly 
a spiritual sense of it in your heart. See, in the mean 
time, that your faith bringeth forth obedience, and God, 
in due time, will cause it to bring forth peace. 

Much the same may be said concerning the grace we 
have from God in Christ for our sanctijication. When 
the soul cannot find this in itself, when it has not a spi- 
ritual sense and experience of its power, when it can- 
not evidently distinguish it from that which is not right 
or genuine, it is filled with fears and perplexities, and 
thinks it is yet in its sins. He is so indeed who hath 
no grace in him 5 but not he always who can find none 
in him : these are different things. A man may have 
grace, and yet not have it at some times much acting ; 
he may have grace for life, when he has it not for fruit- 
fulness and comfort, though it be his duty so to have 
it. Kev. 3:2; 2 Tim. 1 : 6. And a man may have grace 
acting in him, and yet not know, not be sensible that 
he has acting grace. We see persons frequently under 
great apprehension that they have no grace at all, who 
yet, at the same time, to the clearest conviction of all 
who are able to discern spiritual things, sweetly and 
genuinely act faith, love, submission to God, and that 
in a high and eminent manner. Psalm 88. The Psalmist 
complains that he was free among the dead, a man of 
no strength, ver. 4«, 5, as one who had no spiritual life, 
no grace. This afflicted his mind, and almost distracted 
him, ver. 15 ; and yet there can be no greater expres- 



304? FOHGIVENESS OF SIN. 

sions of faith and love to God than are mixed with his 
complaints. 

These things, I say then, are not to be judged of by 
spiritual sense ; but we are to live by faith about them. 
And no soul ought to conclude, that because it has not 
the one, it has not the other ,• that because it has not joy 
and peace, it has no interest in pardon and forgiveness. 

Rule VII. Mix not foundation and building-work 

iog ether. 

Our foundation in dealing with God is Christ alone, 
mere grace and pardon in him. Our building is by holi- 
ness and obedience, as the fruits of that faith by which 
we have received the atonement. And great mistakes 
there are in this matter, which bring great entangle- 
ments on the souls of men. Some are all their days 
laying the foundation, and are never able to build upon 
it any comfort to themselves or usefulness to others ; 
and the reason is, because they will be mixing with the 
foundation stones that are fit only for the building. 
They will be bringing their obedience, duties, mortifica- 
tion of sin, and the like, to the foundation. These are 
precious stones to build with, but unmeet to be first 
laid, to bear upon them the whole weight of the build- 
ing. The foundation is to be laid, as was said, in mere 
grace, mercy, pardon in the blood of Christ. This the 
soul is to accept of, and to rest in as mere grace, with- 
out the consideration of any thing in itself, but that i; 
is sinful and obnoxious to ruin. This it finds a difficulty 
in, and would gladly have something of its own to mix 
with it. It cannot tell how to fix these foundation-stones 
without some cement of its own endeavors and duties; 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 305 

and because these will not mix, they spend a fruitless 
labor about it all their days. But if the foundation be 
of grace, it is not at all of works ; for otherwise grace 
is no more grace. If any thing of our own be mixed 
with grace in this matter, it utterly destroys the nature 
of grace ; which, if it be not alone, does not exist at all. 

But does not this tend to licentiousness 1 does not 
this render obedience, holiness, duties, mortification of 
sin and good works needless 1 God forbid ! yea, this is 
the only way to order them aright to the glory of God. 
Have we nothing to do but to lay the foundation 1 Yes, 
all our days we are to build upon it, when it is surely 
and firmly laid : and these are the ways and means of 
our edification. 

This, then, is the soul to do who would come to peace 
with God. Let it let go all former endeavors, if it has 
been engaged to any of that kind ; and let it alone re- 
ceive and adhere to mere grace, mercy and pardon, 
with a full sense that in itself it has nothing for which 
it should have an interest in them, but that all is of mere 
grace, through Jesus Christ: tf Other foundation can no 
man lay." Depart not hence until this work be well 
done. Cease not from an earnest endeavor with your 
own heart to acquiesce in this righteousness of God, 
and to bring your soul to a comfortable persuasion that 
God, for Christ's sake, hath freely forgiven you all your 
sins. Stir not hence until this be effected. If you have 
been engaged in another way, that is, to seek for an in- 
terest in the pardon of sin by some endeavors of your 
own, it is likely that you are filled with the fruit of your 
own doings ; that is, that you go on with all kinds of 
uncertainties, and without any constant peace. Return, 



308 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

then, hither ; bring this foundation-work to a blessed 
issue in the blood of Christ ) and when that is secured, 
up and be doing in his blessed service. 

You know how fatal and ruinous it is for souls to 
abuse the grace of God by indulgence in sin or neglect 
of duty , this is to turn the grace of God into wanton- 
ness, as we have elsewhere at large declared. And it is 
no less pernicious to bring the duties of our obedience, 
any reserves for them, any hopes about them, into the 
matter of pardon and forgiveness, as we are to receive 
them from God. These things, as they are distinct in 
themselves, must be distinctly apprehended in the soul j 
and the confounding of them is what disturbs the peace 
and weakens the obedience of many. 

First, to take up mercy, pardon and forgiveness ab- 
solutely on account of Christ, and then to yield all obe- 
dience in the strength of Christ, and for the love of 
Christ, is the life of a believer. Eph. 2 : 8-10. 

Rule VIII. Spend not time in heartless complaints, 
when vigorous actings of grace are your duty. 

Fruitless and heartless complaints, bemoaning them- 
selves and their condition, is the substance of the pro- 
fession that some make. If they can object against 
themselves, and form complaints out of their condition, 
they suppose they have done their duty. I have known 
some who have spent a good part of their time in going 
up and down, from one to another, with their difficul- 
ties and complaints. These things are contrary to the 
life of faith. It is good, indeed, in our spiritual distress- 
es, to apply to those who know how to speak a word in 



HULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 307 

season to him that is weary. But for persons to fill up 
their minds and imaginations with their own difficulties 
and complaints, not endeavoring to mix the words that 
are spoken for their relief and direction with faith, but 
going on still in their own way, this is of no advantage ; 
and yet some, I fear, may please themselves in such a 
course, as if it had somewhat of religious eminence 
in it. 

Others, it may be, drive the same trade in their 
thoughts, though they make not outwardly such com- 
plaints. They are conversant, for the most part, with 
heartless despondings; and in some they are multiplied 
by their natural constitution, or bodily infirmity. Ex- 
amples of this kind occur to us every day. Now what 
is the advantage of these things'? What did Zion get 
when she cried, " The Lord hath forsaken me s , and my 
God hath forgotten me]" or Jacob, when he said, "My 
way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed 
over from my God 1" Doubtless they erred concerning 
themselves* How did David rouse himself when he 
found his mind inclined to such a frame! For having 
said, "Why dost thou cast me off, O God] why go I 
mourning because of the oppression of mine enemy V 1 
he quickly rebukes himself, saying, " Why art thou cast 
down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within 
me 1 hope in God." Psalm 42 : 9, 11. 

We must say, then, to such heartless complainers, as 
God did to Joshua, fr Get you up, why lie you thus up- 
on your face 1" Do you think to mend your condition 
by wishing it better, or complaining that it is so bad] 
Are your complaints of want of an interest in forgive- 
ness a sanctified means to obtain it ] Not at alL Yg^ 



3US FORGIVENESS OF SIT?. 

do not so in worldly things : you take an industrious 
course for a remedy, or for relief, and do not content 
yourselves with wishing and complaining. You deceive 
yourselves by acting as though industry in the use of 
natural means, for the attaining of natural ends, were 
the ordinance of God, and as if diligence in the use of 
spiritual means, for the obtaining of spiritual ends, were 
not so. 

Do not consult your own hearts only. What is it 
that the Scripture calls for in your condition ! Is it not 
industry and activity of spirit 1 And what does the na- 
ture of the thing require 1 Distress that you hope yet 
to conquer evidently calls for diligence in the use of 
means for deliverence. If you are past hope, it avails 
not to complain ; if you are not, why give up yourselves 
to despondence] Our Savior tells us, that "the king- 
dom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take 
it by force." Matt. 11 : 12. It is not of the outward 
violence of its enemies seeking to destroy it that our 
Savior speaks, but of the spiritual fervency and ardency 
of mind that is in those who intend to be partakers of 
it. u The kingdom of God is preached, and every man 
pressethinto it: 5 ' pressing into it, and taking it by force, 
are the same thing. There is then a violence, a restless 
activity and vigor of spirit to be exercised for an in- 
terest in this kingdom. Apply this to your condition. 
Are you in depths and doubts, staggering and uncertain, 
not knowing what is your condition, nor whether you 
have any interest in the forgiveness that is with God ! 
Are you tossed up and down between hopes and fears, 
wanting peace, consolation, and establishment 1 Why 
lie you upon your face 1 Get up, watch, pray, fast, 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 309 

meditate, resist temptation to sin ; press to the throne 
of grace by prayer, earnest and importunate supplica- 
tion: this is the way to take the kingdom of heaven. 
These things are not peace, they are not assurance 5 
but they are part of the means that God has appointed 
for the attainment of them. 

What, then, is the peculiar instruction proper for 
souls in this condition! Plainly this of the apostle, 
" Give all diligence to make your calling and election 
sure." 2 Pet. 1 : 10. "Alas!" says the soul, "I am 
afflicted and tossed, and not comforted ; my heart will 
come to no stability 5 I have no assurance, I know not 
whether I am chosen or called ; yea, fear that my latter 
end will be darkness and sorrow: there is, I confess, 
forgiveness with God, but I justly fear that I shall 
never be made partaker of it." What is the usual 
course taken by those applied to for instruction, in such 
circumstances 1 Mostly they have a good opinion of 
those who come -with these complaints: they judge 
them to be godly, though much in the dark ; if they 
knew them not before, yet upon hearing these com- 
plaints they begin to be well persuaded of them. Here- 
upon they are moved with pity and compassion, and 
troubled to see their perplexities, and set themselves 
to tender relief: they remind them of the gracious 
promises of the Gospel ; it may be, fix upon some par- 
ticular promise, which they explain : thence they re- 
mind them of the abundant grace and tender love of the 
Father, of the merciful care of our High Priest, his readi- 
ness and ability to save, and his communication of such 
favors to them as they perceive not. By such ways 
they seek to give them relief. But what is the issue] 



€* 



10 FORGIVENESS OP SIN. 



Does not this relief prove, for the most part, like the 
morning cloud and the early dewl a little refreshment, 
it may be, it yields for a season, but it is quickly again 
dried up, and the soul left in its heartless withering 
condition. 

You will say then, do you condemn this manner of 
proceeding with the souls of men in their doubts, fears, 
and distresses! or would you have them pine away un- 
der the sense of their condition, or abide in this uncer- 
tainty all their days ! I answer, I would not have any 
left comfortless in their depths \ but yet I would give 
these two cautions. 

1. That spiritual wisdom is greatly required in ad- 
ministering consolation to distressed souls. If in. any 
thing the tongue of the spiritually learned is required, it 
is here ; namely, in speaking a word in season to them 
that are weary. A promiscuous imparting of gospel- 
consolation, without a previous right judgment concern- 
ing the true state of the soul, is seldom useful, often 
pernicious. And let men take care how they commit 
their souls and consciences to spiritual advisers who 
have good words in readiness for all comers. 

2. If counsel and consolation of this kind be given, dis- 
tinct from the advice to watchfulness, diligence, spiritual 
violence in a way of duty, it is exceedingly dangerous, 
and will assuredly prove useless. Let us see what 
counsel the Holy Ghost gives to those who would make 
their calling and election sure, who would be freed from 
their present fears and uncertainties, who complain of 
their darkness and dangers: "Giving all diligence, add 
to your faith virtue, knowledge," &c. 2 Pet. 1 : 5. 
"For," saith he. "if you do these things, an entrance 



EULES FOE OBTAINING FORGIVENESS, 311 

shall be administered to you abundantly into the ever- 
lasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 
ver. 11. You who are now on the borders of that king- 
dom, who know not whether you belong to it or not, 
you shall have an entrance into the kingdom of Christ $ 
and all the joy, consolation and glory of it shall be 
richly administered to you. This is the advice that the 
Holy Ghost gives in this case \ and this is the blessed 
promise annexed to following this advice : and this is 
not to be separated from the former compassionate 
course of administering consolation. 

But you will, it may be, here say, " We are so dead 
and dull, so chained under the power of corruptions and 
temptations, that we are not able thus to put forth the 
fruit of a spiritual life in adding one grace to another*" 
But do you use diligence, study, endeavor — all dili- 
gence, diligence at all times, in all ways by God ap- 
pointed, all manner of diligence within and without, in 
private and public, to this end] Do you study, medi- 
tate, pray, watch, fast, neglect no opportunity, keep 
your hearts, search, try, examine yourselves, fly tempta- 
tions and occasions of deadening and stifling grace] 
Do these things abound in you! "Alas!" you say, 
"you cannot do thus, you are so weak, so indisposed." 
But, alas! you will not, you will not part with your 
ease, you will not crucify your lusts, you will not use- 
all diligence; but you must come to it, or be con- 
tented to spend all your days in darkness, and lie down 
in sorrow. 

By such neglect do many fail of heaven. Do not 
many bewail the folly of their nature and ways in the 
morning and evening, and yet scarce stand upon their 



312 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

watch any part of the day, or on any occasion of the 
day 1 Is this giving all diligence 1 Is this working 
out our salvation with fear and trembling 1 May we 
not even see professors indulging themselves in sloth, 
vanity, folly, wrath and envy, and yet complaining what 
loss they are at, how unquiet, how uncertain] God 
forbid it should be thus with you; or that we should 
endeavor to speak peace to you in any such frame. To 
hear of a person, that he walks slothfully, carelessly, or 
indulges his corruptions, and to find him complaining 
that he is at a loss whether he have any interest in par- 
don or not, and to tender comfort to such mourners, 
without a due admonition of their duty to be diligent 
in the use of means for their delivery out of their con- 
dition, is to tender poison to them. 

To this, then, the soul must come that is in depths, 
if it intend to be delivered. Heartless complaints, with 
excuses to keep it from vigorous spiritual diligence, 
must be laid aside ) if not, ordinarily, peace, rest and 
stability will not be obtained. A great example of this 
we have in Canticles, 5 : 2-8, which see. Spiritual 
peace and sloth will never dwell together in the same 
soul and conscience. 

Rule IX. Take heed of undue expressions concerning 
God and his ways, in distress. 

In doubts, distresses, and perplexities beware of hard 
thoughts of God, hasty unweighecl expressions concern- 
ing him or his ways, or of secret resolves that it were 
as well to give over waiting on him, as continue in 
the state wherein you are, seeing your condition is 
remediless. 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 313 

On three occasions are such thoughts apt to arise in 
the minds of men, which sometimes break forth into 
unwarrantable expressions concerning God himself and 
his ways. 

1. In deep perplexities of mind, by reason of some 
pressing terror from the Lord. 

2. On the long wearisome continuance of some tempt- 
ing distress, of which there are many examples. 

3. In spiritual disappointments through the strength 
of temptation. When a person has, it may be, re- 
covered himself, through grace, from a perplexing 
sense of the guilt of some sin, or from a course, shorter 
or longer, less or greater, of backsliding and negligent 
walking with God, and goes on cheerfully for a season 
in the course of obedience 5 if, through the power of 
temptation, neglect of watchfulness, or by any other 
means, he is surprised in the sins or ways he had re- 
linquished, or is turned aside from the vigor of the 
course he had pursued, he may be exposed, not only to 
great despondency, but to be overtaken with secret re- 
solves to give over contending, feeling that it is to no 
purpose, and that God regards him not at all. 

Take an instance or two of each kind. 

The first we have in Job, in the extremity of his trials 
and terrors from the Lord. See, among other places, 
chap. 10. ver. 3. " Is it," saith he to God, " good unto 
thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest 
despise the work of thy hands 1" Ah ! poor worms, 
with whom have we to do 1 Who shall say to a king, 
tf Thou art wicked, and to princes, ye are ungodly V' 
And will ye speak so to him who respecteth not the 
persons of princes, nor regardeth them more than the 

Forgiveness. 14? 



3li FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

poorest in the earth 1 And see what conclusions he in- 
fers from such thoughts as these, rt Thou numherest my 
steps, dost thou not watch over my sin 1 my transgres- 
sion is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine ini- 
quity." chap. 14 : 15-17. He chargeth God as his 
enemy, one who watcheth for all opportunities and ad- 
vantages against him, who seemeth to be glad at his 
halting, and taketh care that none of his sins should be 
missing when he intended to deal with him. Had this 
indeed been the case with him, he had perished unto 
eternity, as elsewhere he acknowledged. 

Of the other we have an instance in the church, " I 
said, my strength and my hope is perished from the 
Lord." Lam. 3 : 18. Present grace in spiritual strength, 
and future expectation of mercy, are all gone. And what 
is got by this] 'Secret hard thoughts of God himself: 
" When I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer." 
ver. 8. " Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that 
our prayers should not pass through." ver. 44. These 
things are grievous to God to bear, and no way useful 
to the soul in its condition. Yea, they more and more 
unfit it for every duty that may tend to its relief and 
deliverance. 

So it was with Jonah : " I said, I am cast out of thy 
sight." chap. 2 : 4. All is lost and gone with me : as 
good give over as contend : I do but labor in vain, pe- 
rish I must, as one cast out of the sight of God. Similar 
complaints fell also from the Psalmist in his distress. 
Psalm 88. 

The general, who heard one of his soldiers cry out 
upon a fresh onset of the enemy, " Now we are undone ! 
Now we are ruined!" called him a traitor, and told him 



RULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 315 

it was not so whilst he could wield his sword. It is not 
for every private soldier, on every danger, to make a 
judgment of the battle; that is the work of the general. 
Jesus Christ is the captain of our salvation: he has un- 
dertaken the conduct of our souls through all our diffi- 
culties. Our duty is to fight and contend: his work is 
to take care of the event ; and to him it is to be com- 
mitted. 

That then you may make a due use of this rule, keep 
always in mind these two considerations : 

1. That it is not for you to take the judgment of 
Christ out of his hand, and to be passing sentence upon 
your own soul. Judgment, as to the state and condition 
of men, is committed to Christ 5 and to him it is to be 
left. This we were directed to in our first rule, and it 
is of special use in the case under consideration. Self- 
judging, in reference to sin and the demerit of it, is our 
duty. The judging of our state in relation to the remedy 
provided, is the office and work of Jesus Christ. 

2. Consider that hard thoughts as to what God will 
do with you, and harsh desponding sentences pronounced 
against yourselves, will insensibly alienate your hearts 
from God. It may be, when men's perplexities are at 
their height, and the most sad expressions are, as it 
were, wrested from them, they yet think they must jus- 
tify God, and that they do so accordingly. But yet such 
thoughts as those mentioned are very apt to infect the 
mind with other inclinations; for, after a while they 
will prevail with the soul to look on God as an enemy, 
and the consequence is easily discerned. Suffer not, 
then, your mind to be tainted' with such thoughts, and 
let not God be dishonored by any such expressions as 



316 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

reflect on that infinite grace and compassion which he 
is exercising towards you. 

Rule X. Duly improve the least appearances of God y 
in a way of grace or pardon* 

If you would come to stability and a comforting per- 
suasion of an interest in forgiveness by the blood of 
Christ, improve the least appearance of him to your 
soul, and the least intimations of his love in pardon that 
in his compassion are made to you. The spouse takes 
notice of her husband and rejoices in him when he 
stands behind the wall, when he doth but look forth at 
the window and show himself at the lattice, when she 
could have no clear sight of hirn. Cant. 2:9. She lays 
hold on the least appearance of him to support her heart 
with and to stir up her affections towards him. Men in 
danger do not sit still to wait until something presents 
itself that will give assured deliverance, but seize upon 
what first presents itself. God in many places expresses 
such supports as give the soul little more than a possi- 
bility of attaining the end : as, " It may be ye shall be 
hid in the day of the Lord's anger." Zeph. 2 : 3. And 
" Who knoweth but he will return and leave a blessing V } 
Joel, 2 : 14. It may be we shall be hid \ it may be we 
shall have a blessing. And this was the best ground that 
Jonathan had for the great undertaking against the ene- 
mies of God, " It may be that the Lord will work for 
us." 1 Sam. 14 : 6. And to what end does God at any 
time make these seemingly doubtful intimations of grace 
and mercy 1 Is it that we should, by the difficulty in- 
cluded in them, be discouraged and kept from him 1 



KULES FOR OBTAINING FORGIVENESS. 317 

Not at all. He speaks nothing to deter sinners, espe- 
cially distressed sinners, from trusting in him. But his 
design is, that we should lay hold upon the least ap- 
pearance of grace which this kind of expressions gives 
us. When men are in a storm at sea, which they fear 
will at last prevail against them ; if they make so far a 
discovery of land as that they can say, It may be there 
is land, it may be it is such a place, where there is a 
safe harbor, none can positively say it is not, there lies 
no demonstration against it : in this condition, especial- 
ly if there be no other way of escape or safety, this is 
enough to make them pursue that discovery, and with 
all diligence steer their course that way, until they have 
made a trial of it to the utmost. The soul of which we 
speak is afflicted and tossed, and not comforted. There 
is in the intimation of grace and pardon intended a re- 
mote discovery of some relief. " This may be Christ, 
it may be forgiveness." This is enough to incline it to 
direct its course constantly that way ; to press forward 
to that harbor which will give it rest. How little had 
David to compose his soul in his great distress : " If," 
said he, " I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he 
will bring me again and show me the ark and the place 
of his habitation; but if he thus say, I have no delight 
in thee, behold, here am I, let him do unto me as seem- 
eth good to him." 2 Sam. 15 : 25, 26. He hath nothing 
but sovereign grace to rest upon, and to that he gives 
himself up. 

Faith is indeed the soul's venture for eternity. Some- 
thing it must venture on, as to its eternal condition. It 
must either adhere to itself, and vain hopes of a righ* 
teousness of its own; or it must give over all expecta- 



',• 



318 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

tion, and lie down in darkness ; or it must shut out all 
dreadful apprehensions of eternity by the power of its 
lusts and carnal affections ; or it must, whatever its dis- 
couragements be, cast itself upon pardon in the blood 
of Jesus Christ. Now, if all the former ways be detest- 
able and pernicious, if the best of them be a direct 
opposition to the Gospel, what has the soul to do but 
to exercise faith, and to improve every encouragement, 
even the least, to that purpose. 



CHAPTER XV. 



HINDERANCES TO A SENSE OF FORGIVENESS. AFFLICTIONS. 

Having given some rules for obtaining gospel-peace, 
I proceed to notice, as the second general application 
of our subject, some Hinderances to a sense of forgive- 
ness. Consider, in particular, where the stress and hin- 
derance lies that keeps you from peace through an esta- 
blished persuasion of an interest in evangelical pardon. 
Do not always fluctuate up and down in generals and 
uncertainties ; but fix on the distinct obstacle, that it 
may be tried whether it be sufficient to keep you in 
your present entanglements and despondencies. Senrch 
out your wound, that it may be tried whether it be 
curable or not. To help you herein, I shall mention 
some general heads, to which most of the objections 
that distressed sinners make against their own peace 



AFFLICTIONS. 319 

may be reduced ; and leave the light of them to be ap- 
plied in particular to the relief of the souls of men, as 
God shall be pleased to make them effectual. 

And, first, such disquiet and objections against the 
peace of the soul and its acceptance with God, will 
arise from afflictions: they have occasioned this dis- 
quiet of old, they do so in many at this day. Afflictions, 
I say, often deeply affect the mind, and sometimes pre- 
vail to darken it so far as to generate thoughts that 
they are all messengers of wrath, all tokens of dis- 
pleasure j and consequently, evidences that we are not 
pardoned or accepted with God. 

The present is to many a time of great affliction. 
Some have met with a dreadful surprisal in things not 
looked for, such as do not occur in the providence of 
God in many generations. Such is the condition of 
those who are reduced to the utmost extremity by the 
late consuming fire ; # some have had their whole fami- 
lies, all their posterity, taken from them ; in a few days 
they have been bereaved, as in the plague. f Some in 
their own persons, or in their relations, have had sore, 
long, and grievous trials from oppression and persecu- 
tion 5 and these things have various effects on the minds 
of men. Some we find crying with that wicked king, 
" This evil is of the Lord, why should we wait any 
longer for himl" and giving up themselves to seek re- 
lief from their own lusts. Some bear up under their 

* By the fire of London in 1666, 13,200 houses were destroyed, 
and many families utterly ruined ; but few lives were lost, 
t In the plague of London, A. D. 1665, 68,000 persons died. 



■ 



320 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

troubles with a natural stoutness of spirit ; and some 
have received a sanctified improvement of the trials, 
with joy in the Lord. But many, we find, go heavily 
under their burdens, having their minds darkened with 
misapprehensions of the love of God and of their own 
personal interest in his grace. It is not, therefore, un- 
seasonable to dwell a little on this point. 

Outward troubles are often the occasions, if not the 
causes, of great inward distresses. You know how the 
saints of old expressed their sense of them and con- 
flicts with them. The complaints of David are fam- 
iliar to all who attend to any communion with God in 
these things , so are those of Job, Jonah, Jeremiah, 
and others: neither do they complain merely of their 
troubles, but of the sense which they had of God's dis- 
pleasure in them, and of his hiding his face from them 
whilst they were so exercised. 

So it is now with many. Says one, " I am rolled from 
one trial to another ; the clouds with me still return 
after the rain. All the billows and water-spouts of God 
go over me : in my person, it may be, pressed with 
sickness, pains, and troubles 5 in my relations, with their 
sins, miscarriages, or death; in my outward state, 
losses, and reputation, I am even a withered branch. 
Surely, if God had any special regard to my soul, it 
would not be thus with me 5 or some timely end would 
have been put to these dispensations." On the other 
hand, they take a view of some other professors : they 
see that their tables are spread day by day ; that the 
candle of the Lord shines continually on their taber- 
nacle, and it seems that in all things they have their 
hearts' desire. Except the common evils of human na- 



AFFLICTIONS. 321 

lure, nothing befalls them grievous in the world. Thus 
it is with them: "And surely, had I an interest in his 
grace, in pardon, the God of Israel would not thus pur- 
sue a flea in the mountains, nor set himself in battle- 
array against a leaf driven to and fro with the wind ; he 
would spare me a little, and let me alone for a moment; 
but as things are with me, I fear my way is hid from 
the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my 
God." Such thoughts perplex the minds of men, and 
keep them from partaking of that strong consolation 
which God is abundantly willing they should receive, 
by a comfortable persuasion of a blessed interest in his 
forgiveness. 

This was the very case of David ; or at least these 
outward troubles were a special part of those depths, 
out of which he cried for relief, by a sense of pardon, 
grace, and redemption with God, 

I answer to these complaints, That so many excellent 
things are spoken concerning the benefits of afflictions, 
such blessed ends are assigned to them, which to many 
have been fulfilled, that a man unacquainted with the 
effects by which they are often attended would think 
it impossible any one should be shaken as to the love 
and favor of God on their account. But, the apostle 
tells us that no afflictions are joyous at present, but 
grievous 5 and while Job made, in the close of his trials, 
the solemn profession that it was good for him that he 
had been afflicted, yet we know how he was distressed 
under them. There are therefore various accidental 
things which accompany great afflictions, that seem to 
exempt them from the common rule, and the promise 
of love and grace : as, 

14* 



• 



322 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

1. The remembrance of past sins lies in the bosom of 
many afflictions. So it was with Job : " Thou makest 
me to possess the sins of my youth." See his plea, 
chap. 13 : 23-27. In the midst of his troubles and dis- 
tresses, God revived upon his spirit a sense of former 
sins, even the sins of his youth, and made him to pos- 
sess them : he filled his soul with thoughts of them, and 
anxiety about them. This made him fear lest God was 
his enemy, and would continue to deal with all severity. 
So was it with Joseph's brethren in their distresses ; 
,f They said one to another, We are verily guilty con- 
cerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his 
soul when he besought us, and we would not hear, 
therefore is this distress come upon us." Gen. 42 : 21. 
And " Behold, his blood is required." ver. 22. Their 
distress revives a deep perplexing sense of the guilt of 
sin many years before, and that under all its aggravat- 
ing circumstances, which spoiled them of their relief 
and comfort, filling them with confusion and trouble, 
though absolutely innocent as to what was come on 
them. 

The same appeared in the widow of Zarephath, with 
whom Elijah sojourned during the famine. Upon the 
death of her son, which it seems was somewhat extra- 
ordinary, she cried out to the prophet, " What have I 
to do with thee, thou man of God 1 Art thou come to 
call my sins to remembrance, and to slay my son I" 1 
Kings, 17 : 18. It seems, some great sin she had for- 
merly contracted the guilt of, and now upon her sore 
affliction in the death of her only child, the remem- 
brance of it was recalled and revived upon her soul. 
Thus deep calleth unto deep at the noise of God's wa- 



AFFLICTIONS. 323 

ter-spouts, and then all his waves and billows go over a 
person. Psalm 42 : 7. The deep of afflictions calleth. 
up the deep of the guilt of sin, and both in conjunction 
become as billows passing over the soul. We see only 
the outside of men's afflictions; and it is supposed to 
be an easy thing to apply relief and comfort to those 
that are distressed. The rule in this matter is so clear, 
so often repeated, the promises annexed to this condi- 
tion so many and precious, that every one has in readi- 
ness what to apply to those who are so exercised. But 
often we know nothing of the gall and wormwood that 
is in men's affliction ; they keep that to themselves, and 
their souls feed upon it in secret. Lam. 3 : 19. God 
hath stirred up the remembrance of some great sin or 
sins, and they look upon their affliction as one in which 
he is come, or beginning to enter into judgment with 
them. And is it any wonder if they are in darkness 
and filled with disconsolation 1 

2. There is in many afflictions something that seems 
new and peculiar ) with w r hich the soul is surprised, and 
in which it cannot readily reduce its condition to what 
is taught about afflictions in general. This perplexes 
and entangles it. It is not affliction it is troubled with, 
but some one thing or other in it that appears with an 
especial dread to the soul, so that it questions whether 
ever it were so with any other, and is thereby deprived 
of the support which from former examples it might 
receive. And indeed, when God intends a deep afflic- 
tion he will put an edge upon it, in matter, or manner, 
or circumstances, that shall make the soul feel its 
sharpness; he will not be governed by our bounds and 
measures with which we think we could be content; 



324 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

but he will put the impress of his own greatness and 
terror upon it, that he may be acknowledged and sub- 
mitted to. Such was the state with Naomi, when, from 
a full and plentiful condition, she went into a strange 
country with a husband and two sons, where they all 
died, leaving her destitute and poor. Hence, in her ac- 
count of God's dealing with her, she says, " Call me 
not Naomi," that is, pleasant, "but call me Mara," that 
is, bitter, "for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly 
with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought 
me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, 
since the Lord hath testified against me, and the Al- 
mighty hath afflicted me 1" Ruth, 1 : 20, 21. So was it 
with Job, with the widow of Zarephath, and with her at 
Nain, who was burying her only child. And still, in 
many afflictions, God is pleased to add an entangling 
speciality which perplexes the soul, and darkens it in 
all its reasonings about the love of God towards it, and 
its interest in pardon and grace. 

3. In some, the affections, as fixed on lawful things, 
have become very sensible and tender, and fitted to re- 
ceive very deep impressions from great afflictions. Now, 
though this in itself be a good natural frame, and helps 
to preserve the soul from that stout-heartedness which 
God abhors j yet, if it be not watched over, it is apt to 
perplex the soul with many entangling temptations. 
The apostle intimates a double evil to which we are ex- 
posed in afflictions: "My son, despise not thou the 
chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked 
of him." Heb. 12: 5. Men may either, through a na- 
tural stoutness, despise and contemn their sufferings, 
and be obstinate under them 3 or they* may faint and 



.AFFLICTIONS. 325 

despond, and so come short of the end which God de- 
signed for them to be attained in the way of duty. 
Now, though the frame spoken of be not obnoxious to 
the first extreme, yet it is greatly to the latter, which, 
if not watched against, is no less pernicious than the 
former. The affections in such persons being greatly 
moved, they cloud and darken the mind, and fill it with 
strange apprehensions concerning God and themselves. 
Every thing is presented to them through a glass of 
fear and terror. This makes them faint and despond 
under very sad apprehensions of themselves and their 
condition. 

4. Afflictions find some entangled with strong corrup- 
tions, as love of the world, of reputation, or it may be 
of things carnal or sensual. Now, when great afflictions 
and strong corruptions unexpectedly meet, it is not 
conceivable what a combustion they will make in the 
soul. As a strong medicine encountering a powerful 
disease, produces effects by which sometimes the very 
life of the patient is endangered ; so where a great 
trial, a smart stroke of the hand of God, falls upon a 
person in the midst of some earthly or sensual pursuit, 
the soul is amazed even to distraction, and can scarce 
have any thought but that God is come to cut him off 
in the midst of his sins. Every unmortified corruption 
fills the very fear and expectation of affliction with hor- 
ror. And there is good reason that it should do so ; 
for, although God should be merciful to men's iniqui- 
ties, yet if he should come to take vengeance of their 
inventions, their condition would be dark and sorrow- 
ful indeed. 

5. Satan is never wanting on such occasions to at- 



326 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

tempt the compassing of his ends upon persons exer- 
cised under the hand of God. In the time of suffering 
it was that he fell upon the Head of the church, turn- 
ing it into the very hour of the power of darkness. 
And he will not omit any opportunity of advantage 
against his members. And he principally in such sea- 
sons attacks them with this : that God regards them not, 
that they are fallen under his judgment and severity, as 
those who have no share in mercy or forgiveness. 

From these and similar reasons, I say it is, that 
whereas afflictions in general are so testified to as 
pledges and tokens of God's love and care, as designed 
to blessed ends, conformity to Christ, and a participa- 
tion of the holiness of God ; yet, by reason of these 
circumstances, they often prove the means of casting 
the soul into depths, and of hindering it from a refresh- 
ing interest in forgiveness with God. 

That this may prove no real or abiding ground of in- 
ward spiritual trouble to the soul, the following direc- 
tions may be observed. 

1. Not only afflictions in general, but great and ma- 
nifold afflictions, and those attended with all sorts of 
aggravating circumstances, are always co?isistent with 
ihe pardon of sin, after signal tokens and pledges of it 
and of the love of God therein : " What is man that 
thou shouldst magnify him, and that thou shouldst set 
thine heart upon him 5 and that thou shouldst visit him 
every morning, and try him every moment !" Job, 7 : I7 f 
18. There are scarcely words of a more dismal import 
in the whole book of God ; yet when Job recollected 
himself from his overwhelming distress, he acknow- 



AFFLICTIONS. 327 

ledges that all this proceeded from the love and care 
of God j yea, his fixing his heart upon a man to magni- 
fy him, to set him up and do him good : for this end 
doth he chasten a man every morning, and try him 
every moment 5 and that with such afflictions as are, for 
the present, so far from being joyous, that they give no 
rest, but even weary the soul of life, verse 15, 16. It 
is observed of Job, that when none in the earth was 
like to him in trouble, God gave him three testimonies 
from heaven that there was none in the earth like to 
him in grace. And though it may not be laid down as a 
general rule, yet, for the most part, in the providence 
of God, from the foundation of the world, those who 
have had most of afflictions have had most of grace, 
and the most eminent testimonies of acceptance with 
God. Christ Jesus, the Son of God, the Head of the 
church, had all afflictions gathered into a head in him ; 
and yet the Father always loved him, and was well- 
pleased with him. 

When God solemnly renewed his covenant with 
Abraham, and he had prepared the sacrifice whereby 
it was to be ratified and confirmed, God made a smok- 
ing furnace to pass between the pieces of the sacrifice. 
Gen. 15 : 17. It was to let him know that there was a 
furnace of affliction attending the covenant of grace 
and peace. And so he tells Zion, that he chose her in 
the furnace of affliction, Isaiah, 48 : 10, that is, in Egyp- 
tian affliction, burning, flaming afflictions, fiery trials, as 
Peter calls them. 1 Pet. 4 : 12. No argument then can 
be drawn from affliction, from any kind of it, from any 
aggravating circumstance wherewith it may be attend- 
ed, that should discourage the soul in its comforting, 



328 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

supporting persuasion of an interest in the love of God. 

2. No length or continuance of afflictions ought to 
prevent our spiritual consolation. Take the great ex- 
ample of the Son of God. How long did his afflictions 
continue 1 What end was put to them 1 No longer did 
they abide than until he cried with a loud voice and 
gave up the ghost. To the moment of his death, from 
his manger to his cross, his afflictions still increased, 
and he ended his days in the midst of them. Now, he 
was the Head of the church, and the great representa- 
tive of it , to a conformity with whom we are predesti- 
nated. And if God will have it so with us, even in this 
particular, that we shall have no rest from our trials un- 
til we lie down in the grave, that whatever condition 
we pass through, they shall be shut out of none, but 
only from immortality and glory, what have we herein 
to complain of! 

3. Where the remembrance and perplexing sense 
of past sins is revived by afflictions, separate them in 
your minds, and deal distinctly about them. So long as 
you carry on the consideration of your sin and your af- 
fliction jointly, you will be rolled from one to another, 
and never obtain rest to your souls. They will mutu- 
ally aggravate each other. The sharpness of affliction 
will add to the bitterness of the sense of sin ; and the 
sense of sin will give an edge to affliction, and cause it 
to pierce deeply into the soul, as we showed in the 
former instances. Deal, therefore, distinctly about 
them, and in their proper order: so doth the Psalmist. 
He had both upon him, and together they brought him 
into the depths, from which he cries out for deliver- 
ance in Psalm 32 : 3-5. And what course does he 



AFFLICTIONS. 329 

take 1 He applies himself in the first place to his sin, 
and the guilt of it, and that distinctly and separately- 
And when he had a discharge from sin, which he wait- 
ed so earnestly for, his faith quickly rose above his out- 
ward trials, as appears in this blessed close of all : " he 
shall redeem Israel out of all his troubles," the whole 
Israel of God, and myself among them. This do, then : 
single out the sin or sins that are revived in the sense 
of their guilt upon the conscience ; use all diligence to 
come to an issue about them in the blood of Christ. 
This God by your affliction calls you to. This is the 
disease of which your trouble is but the symptom. 
This, therefore, in the cure you seek after, is first and 
principally to be attended to ; when that is once re- 
moved, the other, as to any prejudice to your souls, 
will depart of itself. The root being once digged up, 
you shall not long feed on the bitter fruit that it hath 
brought forth; or if you do, the wormwood shall be 
taken out of it, and it shall be very pleasant to you, as 
well as wholesome. How this is to be done by an ap- 
plication to God for forgiveness, hath been at large de- 
clared. But if men will deal with confused thoughts 
about their sins and troubles, their wound will be in- 
curable, and their sorrow endless. 

4. Remember that a time of affliction is a time of 
temptation* Satan, as we have showed, will not be want- 
ing in any opportunity or advantage of setting upon the 
soul. When Pharaoh heard that the people were en- 
tangled in the wilderness, he pursued them. And when 
Satan sees a soul entangled with its distresses, he 
thinks it is his time and hour to assault it. He seeks to 
winnow, and comes when the corn is under the flail. 



330 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

Reckon, therefore, that when trouble cometh, the prince 
of this world cometh also, that you may be provided 
for him. Then is the time to take the shield of faith, 
that we may be able to quench his fiery darts. If they 
be neglected, they will inflame the soul. Watch, there- 
fore, and pray, that you enter not into temptation, that 
Satan do not represent God falsely unto you. He that 
durst represent Job falsely to the all-seeing God, will, 
with much more boldness, represent God falsely to us, 
who see and know so little. Be not, then, ignorant of 
his devices ; but every way set yourselves against his 
interposing between God and your souls in a matter 
which he hath nothing to do with. 

5. Learn to distinguish the effect of bodily infirmity 
from spiritual distresses. Some have sad, dark thoughts 
fixed on their minds from their want of health. These 
will not be cured by reasonings, nor utterly quelled by 
faith. Our design must be to abate their efficacy and 
consequences, by considering their occasions. And if 
men cannot do this of themselves, it is highly incum- 
bent on those who would give them relief, to be careful 
to discern what is from such principles, of which they 
are not to expect a speedy cure. And, 

6. Take heed, in times of peace and ease, that you 
lay not up, by your negligence or careless walking, sad 
provision for a day of darkness, a time of afflictions. It 
is sin that embitters trouble ; the sins of peace are re- 
vived in the time of distress. Fear of future affliction, 
of impending trouble, should make us careful not to 
bring that into them which will make them bitter and 
sorrowful. 

7. Labor to grow better under all your afflictions, lest 



AFFLICTIONS. 331 

your afflictions grow worse ; lest God mingle them with 
more darkness, bitterness, and terror. As Joab said 
to David, that if he ceased not his lamentation on the 
death of Absalom, all the people would leave him, and 
he then would find himself in a far worse condition than 
that which he bemoaned, or any thing that befell him 
from his youth , the same may be said to persons un- 
der afflictions. If they are not managed and improved 
in a due manner, that which is worse may, nay, in all 
probability, will befall them. Wherever God takes this 
way, and engages in afflicting, he commonly pursues his 
work until he hath prevailed, and his design towards the 
afflicted party is accomplished. He will not cease to 
thresh and break the bread-corn until it be meet for his 
use. Lay down, then, the weapons of your warfare 
against him ; give up yourselves to his will ; let go 
every thing about which he contends with you 5 follow 
after that to which he calls you, and you will find light 
arising in the midst of darkness. Hath he a cup of af- 
fliction in one hand, lift up your eyes and you will see 
a cup of consolation in the other. And if all stars with- 
draw their light, whilst you are in the way of God as- 
sure yourselves that the sun is ready to rise. 

8. According to the tenor of the covenant of grace 
a man may be sensible of the respect affliction has to sin, 
yea, to this or that sin in particular, and yet have a 
comfortable persuasion of the forgiveness of sin. Thus 
it was in general in God's dealing with his people : 
"He forgave them, but he took vengeance on their in- 
ventions." Psalm 99 : 8. Whatever they suffered un- 
der the vengeance that fell upon their inventions, (and 
that is as hard a word as is applied any where to God's 



332 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

dealings with his people,) yet at the same time he as- 
sured them of the pardon of their sin: this you know 
was the case with David. His greatest affliction, and 
that which befell him on account of a particular sin, and 
wherein God took vengeance on his invention, was 
ushered in with a word of grace, that God had done 
away or pardoned his sins, and that he should not die. 
This is expressed in the tenor of the covenant with the 
seed of Christ. Psalm 89 ; 30-34. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



HINDERANCES TO A SENSE OF FORGIVENESS. — AM I REGEN- 
ERATED 1 

Another class of objections arise from things internal, 
things that are required in the soul, that it may have 
interest in forgiveness with God. Some of these we 
shall consider. They respect, first, the state of the soul : 
and, secondly, some actings in the soul. 

As to the state, it is rightly urged that unless a man 
be regenerate, eorn again, he is not, he cannot be 
made partaker of mercy and pardon. " And here," say 
some, "all is dark to us: we know not well what this 
regeneration is; it is uncertain whether those who are 
regenerated can know that they are so, or whether this 
can in any measure be known to others. For our part, 
we neither know the time when nor the manner how 
any such work was wrought in us; and yet without this 



REGENERATION. 333 

we can have no unfailing persuasion of forgiveness with 
God." This is the sum of the objections which per- 
plexed souls urge against themselves as to their state. 
Hence, indeed, they draw forth reasonings with great 
variety, as they are suggested by their particular sins, 
failures and fears. My purpose is to lay down some 
general principles, which may be applied to particular 
cases. 

I. It is most certain that there are two states into 
which all mankind are divided ; and every one that lives 
in the world completely and absolutely belongs to one 
of them. These are the state of nature and the state 
of grace ; of sin and of righteousness by Christ : every 
man in the world belongs to one of these states. This 
the Scripture so abounds in, that it seems to be the 
principal thing that we are taught in it. It is as clear 
that there are two different states in this world as that 
there are in that to come ; yea, all our faith and obedi- 
ence depend on this truth : and not only so, but the co- 
venant of God, the mediation of Christ, and all the pro- 
mises and threats of the law and Gospel are built on 
this supposition. And this lays naked to a spiritual eye 
the abounding atheism that is in the world. Men are 
not only, like Nicodemus, ignorant of these things and 
wonder how they can be, but they scorn them, despise 
them, scoff at them. To make mention of being regen- 
erated exposes one to reproach in the world. But whe- 
ther men will or not, unto one of these conditions they 
must belong. 

II. As these two states radically differ, there is a spe- 






334* FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

cial difference between the things that constitute the one 
state and the other. Whatever there is of goodness or 
grace in an unregenerate person, there is in him that is 
regenerate something of another kind that is not in the 
first at all ; for the difference of these states themselves 
is plain in Scripture. The one is a state of death, the 
other of life 5 the one of darkness, the other of light; 
the one of enmity against God, the other of reconcilia- 
tion with him. And here I shall briefly give some marks 
of the truly regenerate. 

1. The grace of regeneration proceeds from a special 
spring or fountain, the electing love of God : who " hath 
chosen us, that we should be holy." Ephes. 1 : 4. Our 
holiness, whose only spring is our regeneration, is that 
which God works in our souls in the pursuit of his eter- 
nal purpose of love and good-will towards us. So again, 
saith the apostle, " God hath from the beginning chosen 
you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit.'' 2 
Thess. 2 : 13. God having designed us to salvation as 
the end, hath also appointed the sanctification of the 
Spirit to be the means to bring us to the attainment of 
that end. But the best of common grace or gifts that 
may be in men unregenerate, are but products of the 
providence of God ordering all things in general unto 
his own glory and the good of them that shall be heirs 
of salvation. They are not fruits of electing eternal 
love, nor designed means for the infallible attaining of 
eternal salvation. 

2. The graces of those who are regenerate have a 
manifold respect or relation to the Lord Christ that the 
common graces of others have not. I shall name one 
or two of these respects. 



REGENERATION. 335 

They have a special moral relation to ike mediatory 
acts of Christ in his oblation and intercession. Especial 
grace is an especial part of the purchase of Christ. By 
his death and blood-shedding he made a double pur- 
chase of his elect, of their persons to be his, of especial 
grace to be theirs. TC He gave himself for his church, 
that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing 
of water by the word, that he might present it unto 
himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, 
or any such thing, but that it should be holy and with- 
out blemish." Eph. 5 : 26, 27. The design of Christ in 
giving himself for his church, was to procure for it that 
especial grace whereby, through the use of means, it 
might be regenerated, sanctified and purified. So Titus, 
2 : 14. " He gave himself, that he might redeem us from 
all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works." Real purification in grace 
and holiness has this especial relation unto the death of 
Christ, that he designed therein to procure it for his peo- 
ple. And in the pursuit of his purchase or acquisition 
of it, his purpose was really to bestow it upon them, or 
effectually to work it in them. Moreover, it has an es- 
pecial relation unto his intercession, and that in a dis- 
tinguishing manner from any other gifts or common 
graces that other men may receive. Giving us the rule 
and pattern of his intercession, John, 17, he tells us 
that he so prays, not for the world, but for his own, 
those whom the Father had given him, because they 
were his. ver. 9. And what is it that he prays for for 
them, in distinction from all other men whatever % 
Amongst others, this is one principal thing, " Sanctify 
them through thy truth." ver. 17. Their sanctification 



• 



333 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

and holiness is granted upon that prayer and interces- 
sion of Christ which is peculiar to them, with an exclu- 
sion of all others : " I pray for them, I pray not for the 
world." Now, the common grace of unregenerate per- 
sons, whatever it be, has not this special relation to the 
oblation and intercession of Christ. 

Again, the truly regenerate have a real relation to 
Christ, as he is the living quickening Head of the church ; 
the fountain of spiritual life, and of all vital acts what- 
ever. Christ is our life, and our life is hid w r ith him in 
God. Col. 3 : 2, 3. That eternal life which consists in 
the knowledge of the Father and the Son, John, 17 : 3, 
is in him as the cause, head, spring and fountain. In 
him it is in its fullness, and from thence it is derived 
unto all that believe, who receive from his fulness 
grace for grace. John, 1 : 16. All true, saving, sanctify- 
ing grace, all spiritual life, is derived directly from 
Christ, as the living Head of his church and the foun- 
tain of all spiritual life. This the apostle expresses, 
" Speaking the truth in love, grow up into him in all 
things, which is the Head, even Christ ] from whom the 
whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that 
which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual 
working in the measure of every part, maketh increase 
of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love." Eph. 
4 : 15, 16. See also Col. 2 : 19. All grace in the whole 
body comes from the Head, Christ Jesus ; and there is 
no growth or furtherance of it but by his effectual work- 
ing in every part. Nothing then, no, not the least of 
this grace, can be obtained but by virtue of our union 
with Christ as our Head, because it consists in a vital 
effectual influence from him and his fulness. And this 



REGENERATION. 337 

kind of relation unto Christ all grace that is, or may be 
in unregenerate men, is incapable of. 

The grace of regeneration and its fruits are also ad- 
ministered in the covenant. This is the promise of the 
covenant, that God will write his law in our hearts, and 
put his fear in our inward parts, that we shall not de- 
part from him. Jer. 32 : 40. This is that grace of which 
we speak. It is bestowed on none but those who are 
taken into covenant with God ; for unto them alone it 
is promised, and by virtue thereof is it wrought in their 
souls. Now all unregenerate men are strangers from 
the covenant, and are not made partakers of that grace 
which is peculiarly and only promised thereby, and ex- 
hibited therein. 

And further, every spark of saving regenerating grace 
is wrought in the soul by the Holy Ghost^ as given to 
men to dwell in them and abide with them. He is the 
water given by Jesus Christ to believers, which is in 
them " a well of v/ater springing up to everlasting life." 
John, 4 : 14. First, they receive the water, the spring 
itself, that is, the Holy Spirit; and from thence living 
waters rise up in them 5 they are produced by the Spirit, 
which is given to therri. Now, though the common gifts 
and graces of unregenerate men are the effects of the 
power of the Holy Ghost, yet it doth not work in them 
and abide with them as a never-failing spring of spirit- 
ual life. Our Savior says expressly that the world, or 
unbelievers, do not know the Spirit, nor can receive 
him, or have him abiding in them. All which, in con- 
tradistinction to all unregenerate persons, is affirmed 
of all who believe. 

The least of saving grace, such as is peculiar to them 

Forgiveness. ID 



338 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

that are regenerate, is spirit: " That which is born of 
the Spirit is spirit. John, 3:6. It has a spiritual being", 
and it is not to be drawn by any means out of the prin- 
ciples of nature \ so it is said to be " a new creature." 
2 Cor. 5 : 17. Be it ever so little or great, however it 
may differ in degree in one and in another, yet its na- 
ture is the same in all — it is a new creature. As the 
least worm of the earth, in the order of the old crea- 
tion, is a creature as truly as the most glorious angel 
in heaven \ so, in the order of the new creation, the 
least spark of true grace that is from the sanctifying 
Spirit is a new creature no less than the highest faith 
or love that ever were in the chiefest of the apostles. 
Now that which is spirit and that which is not spirit, 
that which hath a new spiritual being and that which 
hath none, whatever appearance of agreement there 
may be among them, do yet differ specifically from one 
another. And thus it is with the saving grace in the re- 
generate, and those common graces in others which 
are not saving. So that these states are eminently dif- 
ferent and distinct the one from the other. 

III. We proceed to consider the inquiry, Whether 
this state of regeneration be known to him who is really 
a partaker of it, or to others ? To which I say, that as 
the difference between these two states is real, so it is 
discernible : they may be known by the persons them- 
selves who are in those states, and also by others. It 
may be known who are born of God, and who are yet 
children of the devil; who are quickened by Christ, 
and who are yet dead in trespasses and sins. But hero 
observe, 



REGENERATION. 339 

I do not say that a state of regeneracy is always 
known to the persons themselves. Many cry, Peace, 
peace, when sudden destruction is at hand : these either 
think themselves regenerated when they are not, or else 
wilfully despise the consideration of what is required 
in them that they may have peace, and so delude their 
own souls to their ruin. And many that are truly born 
of God yet know it not : they may for a season walk in 
darkness and have no light. 

Nor is it always known to others. It is not known to 
unregenerate men, for they know not what it is to be 
regenerate. Natural men perceive not the things of 
God, 1 Cor. 2: 14, for they are foolishness to them, and 
no more can they judge aright of the persons in whom 
they are. And if they do at any time judge aright con- 
cerning any, yet they do not judge so upon right 
grounds, or with any evidence of what they judge. 
Wherefore generally they judge amiss of the regene- 
rate ; and because they make profession of something 
which they find not in themselves, they judge them 
hypocrites and false pretenders. For the things which 
evince their union with Christ and their being born of 
God the ungodly have no relish, nor can they receive 
them. Nor is this always discerned by them that are 
regenerate. They may sometimes, with Peter, think a 
Simon Magus to be a true believer \ or, with Eli, a Han- 
nah to be a daughter of Belial. Many hypocrites ap- 
pear to have such gifts and graces that they pass among 
believers for such as are born of God ; and many poor 
saints may be so disguised under darkness, temptation 
and sin as to be looked on as strangers from that family 
whereto indeed they belong. The judgment of man 



340 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

may fail, but the judgment of God is according to righ- 
teousness. Wherefore, 

This is what we say : It may be known in the sedulous 
use of means appointed for that end to one's self and 
others, whether he be regenerate or not, so far as is 
practically essential to either: this may be known, and 
that assuredly, with reference to any duty in which we 
are concerned. The discharge of some duties in our- 
selves and towards others depends on this knowledge, 
and therefore we may attain it, so far as it is necessary 
for the discharge of such duties to the glory of God. 
And here we may notice in few words what duties 
depend on our judging others to be regenerate, and the 
principles on which such a judgment may be formed. 

1. There are many duties incumbent on us towards 
professors, which, without admitting a judgment to be 
made of their state, cannot be performed in faith ; and 
it is solely in reference to these duties that we are 
called to judge of the state of others. For we are not 
giving countenance to a rash uncharitable censuring of 
men's spiritual condition, nor to any judging of any one 
beyond what our own duty towards him indispensably 
requires. Thus, if we are to lay down our lives for the 
brethren, it is essential that we should so far know 
them so to be, that we may hazard our lives in faith 
when we are called to do it. We are also to join them 
in those ordinances wherein we make a solemn profes- 
sion that we are members of the same body with them, 
that we have the same Head, the same Spirit, faith and 
love. We must love them, because they are begotten 
of God, children of our heavenly Father; and, there- 
fore, must on some good ground believe them to be so. 



REGENERATION. 311 

In a word, the due performance of all mutual gospel- 
duties, to the glory of God and our own edification, de- 
pends on this supposition. 

2. For the grounds of this judgment I shall mention 
one only, which all others do lean upon. This is pressed, 
1 Cor. 12 : 12, 13. "As the hody is one, and hath many 
members, and all the members o^ that one body, being 
many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one 
Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be 
Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have 
been all made to drink into one Spirit." They are all 
united to one Head , for as are the members of the body 
natural under one head ; so is Christ mystical, that is, 
all believers, under Christ their Head. And this union 
they have by the indwelling of the same quickening 
Spirit which is in Christ their Head, and by him they 
are brought all into the same spiritual state and frame : 
they are made to drink into one and the same Spirit ; 
for this same Spirit produceth the same effects in them 
all, the same in kind, though differing in degrees, as 
the apostle fully declares, Eph. 4 : 3-6. This Spirit 
is in them, and not in the world. John, 16. And as 
this gives them an affection in their duties one to- 
wards another, or in mutual caring for, rejoicing and 
sorrowing for one another, as members one of another, 
1 Cor. 12 : 25, 26, so it reveals and discovers them to 
each other, so far as is necessary for the performance 
of the duties mentioned, in such a manner as becomes 
members of the same body. There is thus spiritually 
an answering of one to another, as face answereth 
face in water. They see and discern that in others 
which they experience in themselves 5 they taste and 



342 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

relish that in others, on which they feed themselves, 
and in which the life of their souls consists : unless 
their minds are blinded by temptation, or false opinions, 
or prejudice, they can, in their communion, discover 
that Spirit in each other which they are all made to 
drink into. This gives them the same likeness and 
image in the inward man, the same heavenly light in 
their minds, the same affections ; and, being thus pre- 
pared and enabled to judge and discern of the state of 
each other in reference to their mutual duties, they 
have, moreover, the true rule of the word by which to 
judge of all spirits and spiritual effects. And this is the 
ground of all that love without dissimulation, and real 
communion among the saints of God in this world. 
But here two cautions must be suggested. 

We should not judge the state of any men in the 
world further than we are called thereto in a way of 
duty \ and we are so called only with reference to the 
duties we are to perform towards them. What have we 
to do to judge them that are without, that is, any one 
that we have not a call to consider in reference to our 
own duty] " Judge not, that ye be not judged." Let 
us leave all men, the worst of men, unless where evi- 
dent duty requires more from us, to the judgment-seat 
of God. They are the servants of another, and they 
stand »or fall to their own master. There have been 
great mistakes among us in this matter. Some have 
been ready to condemn all that go not along with them 
in every principle, yea, opinion or practice: and every 
day slight occasions and provocations are made the 
grounds of severe censure. But nothing is more con- 
trary to the conduct of the meek and holy spirit of 



REGENEHATION. 313 

Christ. This is our rule : are we called to act towards 
any, as living members of the body of Christ, and that 
in such duties as we cannot perform in faith, unless we 
are persuaded that so they arel then are we, on the 
grounds and by the ways before mentioned, to satisfy 
ourselves in one another; 

If we endeavor mutually to discern the condition of 
one another in reference to such ends, let us be sure 
to pursue those ends, when we have attained our satis- 
faction. What these ends are, has been showed. It is, 
that we may love them without dissimulation, as mem- 
bers of the same mystical body with us 5 that we may 
naturally take care of them, and for them , that we 
may delight sincerely in them; that we may minister 
unto their wants, temporal and spiritual ; that we may 
watch over them with pity and compassion. These and 
the like are the only ends for which we are, at any 
time, called to the consideration of the spiritual condi- 
tion of one another ; if these be neglected, the other is 
useless. Here lies the life or death of all church-fellow- 
ship : it is built on the supposition that the members 
of it are all regenerate, and that they should perform 
those duties one towards another which are incumbent 
mutually on regenerate persons. If these are omitted, 
there is an end of all profitable church society. Churches 
without this are but mere husks and shells of churches, 
carcasses without souls. For as there is no real union 
with Christ without faith, so there is no real union 
among the members of any church without love, and 
that acting itself in the duties mentioned. Let not this 
ordinance be in vain. 

But we must return from this digression, to that 



- 



344 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

which lies before us, which is concerning what a man 
may discern respecting himself being regenerate or 
born again. I say then, 

IV. Men may come to an assured persuasion that they 
are regenerate, and that so far infallible that it will not 
deceive them when brought to the trial. For there are 
many duties whose performance, in faith to the glory 
of God and the edification of our own souls, depends 
on this persuasion and conviction. As, 

1. A due sense of our relation to God, and direction 
of our spirits and hearts towards him. He that is born 
again, is born of God ; he is begotten of God by the im- 
mortal seed of the word. Without a persuasion of this, 
how can a man, on grounds of faith, come to God as 
his Father 1 And how great a part of our obedience to- 
wards him, and communion with him, depends hereon, 
we all know. If men fluctuate all their days as to their 
real state, if they come to no settlement in it, no com- 
fortable persuasion of it, they scarce ever act any 
genuine child-like acts of love or delight towards God, 
which exceedingly impeaches their whole obedience. 

2. Thankfulness for grace received is one of the 
principal duties that is incumbent on believers in this 
world. Now, how can a man in faith bless God for that 
which he is utterly uncertain whether he have received 
from him or not 1 I know some men are very bold in 
this matter. They will bless God in a formal way for 
their regeneration, sanctification, justification, and the 
like. But if you ask them whether they themselves 
are regenerated by the Spirit or not, they will be ready 
to scoff at it, or, at least, to profess that they know no 



REGENERATION. 345 

such thing. What is this but to mock God, and in a 
presumptuous manner take his name in vain'? But, if 
we would praise God as we ought for his grace, as we 
are guided and directed in the Scripture, as the nature 
of the service requires, with such a frame of heart as 
may influence our whole obedience, surely it cannot but 
be our duty to know the grace that w T e have received. 
3. Again, our spiritual watch and diligence consists 
chiefly in cherishing, improving, and increasing the 
grace that we have received, the new creature that is 
wrought in us. Herein consists principally the life, of 
faith and the exercise of that spiritual wisdom with 
which faith furnishes the soul. And how can any man 
apply himself to this whilst he is altogether uncertain 
whether he has received any principle of living, saving 
grace % Whereas, therefore, God requires our utmost 
diligence, watchfulness and care that we may grow in 
grace, it is certain that he requires also of us, and grant3 
to us, that which is the foundation of all these duties, 
an acquaintance with the state whereto we belong. In 
brief, there is nothing we have to do in reference to 
eternity, but, one way or other, has respect to our light 
and convictions as to' cur state. And those who are 
negligent in the trial and examination thereof, do leave 
all things between God and their souls at absolute un- 
certainties and dubious hazards, which is not to lead 
the life of faith. 

We now return to the objection under consideration 
Say some, tf We know not whether we are regenerate 
or not, and therefore are altogether uncertain whether 
we have an interest in forgiveness with God \ nor dare 

25* 



346 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

we receive the consolation tendered." I proceed then 

tO Show THE GROUNDS OF RESOLVING THIS PERPLEXING 

doubt in the ensuing directions. 

Direction I. See that the assurance which you look 
after and desire is gospel-assurance, and not such as is 
suited merely to your own imagining. Our second and 
third general rules about the nature of all spiritual as- 
surance, and what is consistent therewith, are here to 
be taken into consideration. If you look to have such 
an absolute conviction of this matter as shall admit of 
no doubts and causes of new self-examination, you will 
be greatly deceived. Kegeneration induces a new prin- 
ciple into the soul, but does not utterly expel the old : 
some would have security, not assurance. The principle 
of sin and unbelief will still abide and work in us. Their 
abiding and acting must needs put the soul upon a se- 
vere inquiry whether they are not prevalent in it be- 
yond what the condition of regeneration will admit. 
The constant conflicts we must have with sin will not 
suffer us to have always so clear an evidence of our con- 
dition as we could desire. Such a persuasion as is pre- 
valent against strong objections to the contrary, and 
keeps the heart in a due performance of those duties in 
faith which belong to the state of regeneration, is the 
substance of what you are to look after. 

Direction II. If you are doubtful concerning your 
state, do not expect an extraordinary determination of it 
by an immediate testimony of the Spirit of God. I grant 
that God sometimes gives his own Spirit immediately 
to bear witness with ours that we are the children of 
God, both in respect to regeneration and adoption. But 
he does so, as far as we can observe, in a way of sove- 



REGENERATION. 347 

reignty, when and to whom he pleaseth, Besides, that 
men may content and satisfy themselves with his or- 
dinary teachings, consolations and communications of 
grace, he has left the nature of that peculiar testimony 
of the Spirit very dark and difficult to be found out, few 
agreeing wherein it consists or what is its nature. No 
one man's experience is a rule to others ; and an undue 
apprehension of it is a matter of great danger. Yet it 
is certain that humble souls, in extraordinary cases, 
may have recourse to it with benefit and relief. This 
then you may desire, you may pray for it, but not with 
such a frame of spirit as to refuse the other satisfaction 
which in the ways of truth *and peace you may find. 
This is the putting of the hand, like Thomas, into the 
side of Christ 3 but blessed are they who believe, and 
yet have not seen. 

Direction III. If you have, at any time formerly, re- 
ceived any special testimony of God given to your souls 
as to their sincerity, and consequently their regenera- 
tion, labor to recover it, and to revive a sense of it now 
in your darkness and trouble. I am persuaded that there 
are few believers to whom God does not at one time 
or other, in one duty or other, entering into or coming 
out of one temptation or another, give some singular 
testimony to their own souls of their sincerity and his 
acceptance. Sometimes he does this in a duty in which 
he enables the soul to make so near an approach to him 
that it is warmed, enlivened, satisfied with the presence, 
the gracious presence of God. Sometimes, when a man 
is entering on a great trial, a difficult or dangerous duty, 
so that death itself is feared in it, God comes in by one 
means or other with a secret intimation of his love. 



348 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

which he gives him to take along with him for his fur- 
niture and provision in his way, and thereby testifies to 
him his sincerity. And this serves, like the food of Eli- 
jah, for forty days in a wilderness condition. Some- 
times he is pleased to shine immediately into the soul 
in the midst of its darkness and sorrow, wherewith it is 
surprised, as not looking for any such expression of 
kindness, and is thereby relieved against its own press- 
ing self-condemnation. And sometimes the Lord is 
pleased to give these tokens of love to the soul as its 
refreshment, when it is coming out of the storm of 
temptations wherewith it has been tossed. And many 
other times and seasons there are wherein God is pleased 
to give believers some special testimony to their own 
integrity. But these are all wrought by a transient ope- 
ration of the Spirit, exciting and enabling the heart to 
a spiritual sensible apprehension and receiving of God's 
kindness towards it. These things abide not in the 
power which they have upon our affections, hut soon 
pass away. They are therefore to be treasured up in the 
mind, to be improved by faith, as occasion shall require ; 
but we are apt to lose them. Most men know no other 
benefit of them but the joy whilst they feel them ; yea, 
through ignorance in our duty to improve them, they 
prove like a sudden light brought into a dark place and 
again removed, which seems to increase and realty ag- 
gravates our sense of the darkness. The true use of them 
is to lay them up and ponder them in our hearts, that 
they may be supports to us in a time of need. Have 
you then, who are now in the dark as to the question 
whether you are regenerate or not, ever received any 
such refreshing and cheering testimony from God given 



REGENERATION. 349 

to your integrity and your acceptance with him 1 Call 
it over again, and make use of it against the discourage- 
ments which arise from your present darkness, and 
which keep you from sharing in the consolation ten- 
dered to you in this word of grace. 

Direction IV. A due spiritual consideration of the 
causes and effects of regeneration, is the ordinary means 
whereby the souls of believers come to be satisfied con- 
cerning this work of God in them. 

The principal causes of this work are the Spirit and 
the word. He that is born again, is born of the Spirit, 
John, 3:6; and of the word : K ' Of his own will begat 
he us by the word of truth." James, 1 : 18. u We are 
born again by the word of God that abideth for ever." 
1 Peter, 1 : 23. Wherever, then, a man is regenerate, 
there has been an effectual work of the Spirit and of 
the word upon his soul. This is to be inquired after, 
and ordinarily it will discover itself. Such impressions 
will be made upon the soul, such a change will be 
wrought and produced in it, as will not escape a spiri- 
tual, diligent search and inquiry. And this is much of 
the duty of such as are in the dark, and uncertain con- 
cerning the accomplishment of this work in themselves. 
Let them call to mind what have been the actings of the 
Spirit by the word upon their souls ; what light has 
thereby been communicated to their minds ; what dis- 
coveries of the Lord Christ and the way of salvation 
have been made to them ; what sense and detestation 
of sin have been wrought in them; what satisfaction has 
been given to the soul in choosing, accepting and ac- 
quiescing in the righteousness of Christ ; what resig- 
nation of the heart unto God, according to the tenor of 






350 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

the covenant of grace. Call to mind what transactions 
there have been between God and your soul about 
these things ; how far they have been carried on 5 whe- 
ther you have broken off the treaty with God and re- 
fused his terms ; or if not, where the hinderance is be- 
tween you, and what is the reason, since God has gra- 
ciously begun to deal thus with you, that you are not 
yet come to a thorough close with him in the work and 
design of his grace. The defect must of necessity lie 
in you. God doeth nothing in vain ; had he not been 
willing to receive you, he would not have dealt with 
you so far as he hath. There is nothing then remains 
to establish your condition but a resolved act of your 
own will in answering the mind and will of God. By 
this search may the soul come to satisfaction in this 
matter, or at least Und out and discover where the hin- 
derance is, whence the uncertainty arises, and what is 
wanting to complete its desire. 

Again, this work may be discovered by its effects. 
There is something produced by it in the soul, which 
may also be considered either with respect to its exist- 
ence or its actings and operations. In the first respect 
it is spirit, rr that which is born of the Spirit," John, 
3:6, which is produced by the effectual operation of 
the Spirit of God. It is a new creature : " He that is in 
Christ Jesus (who is born again) is a new creature ; 
2 Cor. 5: 17; he has a new life, a spiritual life. Gal. 
2 : 20 ; Eph. 2 : 1. In brief, it is an habitual supply of 
all the faculties of the soul with new spiritual, vital 
principles, enabling a person in all instances of obe- 
dience to lead a spiritual life unto God. This principle 
is by this work produced in the soul; and in respect to 



REGENERATION. 351 

its actings, it consists in all the gracious operations of 
the mind, will and affections, in the duties of obedience 
which God has required. This is that which gives life 
to our duties, (without which the best of our works are 
but dead works,) and renders them acceptable unto the 
living God. 

It is not my business at large to pursue these things. 
I only mention them, that persons who are kept back 
from the consolation tendered from the forgiveness that 
is with God, because they cannot comfortably conclude 
that they are born again, may know how to make a 
right judgment of themselves, and that it is such per- 
sons alone to whom these consolations truly and really 
belong. Let such persons, then, not fluctuate up and 
down in generals and uncertainties, with heartless com- 
plaints, which is the ruin of the peace of their souls, but 
let them really put things to the trial, by the examina- 
tion of the causes and effects of the work they inquire 
after. It is by the use of such means that God will be 
pleased to give them all the assurance and establish- 
ment concerning their state which is needful for them, 
and which may give them encouragement in their 
course of obedience. > 

"But granting all that has been said, what if a man, 
by the utmost search and inquiry that he is able to 
make, cannot attain any satisfactory persuasion that in- 
deed this great work of God's grace has been wrought 
in his soul ; is this a sufficient ground to keep him from 
accepting support and consolation from the truth that 
there is forgiveness with God 1" I say, then, further, that, 

1. Regeneration does not, in the order of time, precede 



352 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

the souFs interest in forgiveness with God, or its being 
made partaker of the pardon of sin. I confess the me- 
thod of the Gospel is, that absolution, acquittance, or 
the pardon of sin, is the foundation of the communica- 
tion of all saving grace to the soul, and so precedes all 
grace whatever in the sinner. But, because this absolu- 
tion 'or pardon of sin is to be received by faith, where- 
by the soul is really made partaker of it and all its bene- 
fits i and faith also is the radical grace which we re- 
ceive in our regeneration ; for it is by faith that our 
hearts are purified, as an instrument in the hand of the 
great purifier, the Spirit of God ; I place these two to- 
gether, and shall not dispute as to their priority in na- 
ture ; but in time the one doth not precede the other. 
2. It is hence evident that an assurance of being re- 
generate is no way previously necessary to the believing 
of an interest in forgiveness; so that if a man have not 
the assurance, it is his duty to trust in Divine forgive- 
ness. When convinced persons cried out, What shall 
we do to be saved] the answer was, Believe, and you 
shall be saved. To believe in Christ, and in the remis- 
sion of sin by his blood, is the first thing that con- 
vinced sinners are called to. They are not directed 
first to assure their souls that they are born again, and 
then afterwards believe ; but they are first to believe 
that the remission of sin is tendered to them in the 
blood of Christ, and that by him they may be justified 
from all things from which they could not be justified 
by the law. Nor is it the duty of men to question whe- 
ther they have faith or not, but actually to believe ; and 
faith in its operation will evidence itself. See Acts, 
13 : 38, 39. Suppose, then, that you do not know that 



REGENERATION. 353 

you are born of God 3 that you have no prevailing', re- 
freshing evidence of it — should this hinder you 1 Should 
this discourage you from believing forgiveness, from 
closing with the promises, and thereby obtaining in 
yourselves an interest in forgiveness with God] Not at 
all ', nay, this ought exceedingly to excite and stir you 
up to your duty herein. For, 

Suppose that indeed you are yet in the state of sin, 
and are only brought under the power of light and con- 
viction ; this is the way for a translation into a state of 
spiritual life and grace. If you delay the acting of faith 
in forgiveness until you are regenerate, you may, and 
probably you will, come short both of forgiveness and 
regeneration. Here lay your foundation, and then your 
building will go on. This will open the door to you, 
and give you an entrance into the kingdom of God. 
Christ is the door ; do not think to climb over the wall : 
enter by him, or you will be kept out. 

And suppose that you are bGrn again, but yet know it 
not, as is the condition of many : this is the way where- 
by you may receive an evidence thereof. It is good to 
look after all signs and pledges of our spiritual condi- 
tion, and rightly to improve them ; but the best course 
is to follow the genuine natural actings of faith, which 
leads us into the most settled apprehensions concerning 
our relation to God and acceptance with him. Believe 
first the forgiveness of sin as the effect of mere grace 
and mercy in Christ. Let the faith of this be nourished 
and strengthened in your soul. This will insensibly in- 
fluence your hearts to a comforting gospel persuasion 
of your state towards God, which will be accompanied 
with assured rest and peace. 



354 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

To conclude our remarks on this point, remember 
that what has been said with reference to the state of 
regeneration in general, may be applied to every parti- 
cular objection or cause of fear or. discouragement that 
may be reduced to that head. Such are all objections 
that arise from particular sins, from aggravations of sin 
ty their greatness or circumstances, or relapses into 
them. The way that the consideration of these things 
prevails upon the mind to fear is by begetting an appre- 
hension in men that they are not regenerate ; for if they 
were, they suppose they could not be so overtaken or 
entangled. The rules, therefore, laid down are suited 
to the straits of the souls of sinners in all such particu- 
lar cases. 

There remains another point in the general objection 
urged, which, though not of any great importance in it- 
self, it is well to remove out of the way, that it may not 
leave entanglements upon the minds of any : namely, 
that some know not nor can give an account of the time 
of their conversion to God, and therefore cannot be satis- 
fied that the saving work of his grace hath passed upon 
them. 

i It has been shown that, in reference to our state, there 
are many things on which we may safely found a judg- 
ment concerning ourselves ; and it is great folly to 
wave them all, and put the issue of the matter upon one 
circumstance. If a man have a trial at law in which he 
has many evidences for him and only one circumstance 
is questionable, he will not cast the weight of his cause 
on that disputed circumstance, but will plead the evi- 
dences that are more clear and testify more fully in his 
behalf. I will not deny that the time of conversion is 



EEGENEItATION. 355 

often an important circumstance. In the affirmative, 
when it is known, it is of great use, tending to stability 
and consolation ; but yet it is but a circumstance such 
as the being of the thing itself does not depend on. He 
that is alive may know that he was born, though he 
know neither the place where nor the time when. And 
so may he that is spiritually alive, and has ground of 
evidence that he is so, that he was born again, though 
he know neither when, nor where, nor how. And this 
case is usual in persons of quiet natural temper who 
have had the advantage of education under means of 
light and grace. God often in such persons begins and 
carries on the work of his grace insensibly, so that they 
come to good growth and maturity before they know 
that they are alive. Such persons come at length to be 
satisfied in saying, with the blind man in the Gospel, 
How our eyes were opened w 7 e know not,* only one 
thing we know, whereas we were blind by nature, now 
we see. 

Even in this matter also we must, it may be, be con- 
tent to live by faith, and to believe as well what God 
hath done in us, if it be the matter and subject of his 
promises, as what he hath done for us, the ground 
whereof also is the promise, and nothing else. 

There is another head of objection against the souPs 
receiving consolation from an interest in forgiveness, 
arising from the consideration of its present state and 
condition as to actual holiness, duties and sins. Souls 
complain, when in darkness and under temptations, that 
they cannot find that holiness nor those fruits of it in 
themselves which they suppose an interest in pardoning 



356 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

mercy will produce. Their hearts they find are weak, 
and all their duties are worthless , if they were weighed 
in the balance they would be all found light as air. In 
the best of them there is such a mixture of self-hypo- 
crisy, unbelief, vain-glory, that they are even ashamed 
and confounded with the remembrance of them. These 
things fill them with discouragements, so that they re- 
fuse to be comforted or to entertain any refreshing per- 
suasion of their good estate ; but rather conclude that 
they are utter strangers to forgiveness with God, and 
so continue helpless in their depths. 

According to the method pursued, I shall only lay 
down some general rules that may support a soul under 
such despondencies, that none of these things may 
weaken its endeavors to lay hold of forgiveness. And, 

I. This is the proper place to put in execution our 
seventh rule, to take heed of heartless complaints, when 
vigorous actings of grace are expected of us. If it be 
thus indeed, why lie you on your face 1 why do you 
not rise and strive to the utmost, giving all diligence 
to add one grace to another, till you find yourself in a 
better frame ! Supposing, then, the putting of that rule 
into practice, I add that, 

1. Known holiness is apt to degenerate into self-righ- 
teousness. What God gives us in sanctification we arc 
ready enough to reckon on the score of justification. 
It is difficult to have evidence of grace in us, and yet 
trust solely in Christ as perishing sinners. We have so 
much of the Pharisee in us by nature, that it is some- 
times well that our good is hid from us. We are ready 
to take our corn and wine and bestow them on other 
lovers. Were there not in our hearts a perceived prin 



REGENERATION. 357 

ciple of corruption, and in our duties a discernible mix- 
ture of self, it would be impossible we should walk so 
humbly as is required of those who hold communion 
with God in a covenant of grace and pardoning mercy. 
It is a good life which is attended both with a faith of 
righteousness and a sense of corruption. Whilst I know 
Christ's righteousness, I may be less anxious to know 
my own holiness. To be holy is necessary \ to know 
it, sometimes a temptation. 

2. Even duties of God's appointment, when turned 
into self-righteousness, are God's greatest abhorrence. 
Isa. 66 ;2, 3. What hath a good original may be vitiated 
by a bad end. 

3. Often holiness in the heart is more known by the 
opposition there made to it than by its own prevalent 
working; the Spirit's operation is known by the flesh's 
opposition. We find a man's strength by the burden he 
carries, and not the pace that he goes. , " Oh, wretched 
man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of 
this death V is a better evidence of grace and holiness 
than " God, I thank thee I am not as other men." A 
heart pressed, grieved, burdened, not by the guilt of sin 
only, which troubles an awakened conscience, but by 
the close adhering power of indwelling sin, tempting, 
seducing, soliciting, hindering, captivating, disquieting, 
may from thence have as clear an evidence of holiness 
as from a delightful fruit-bearing. What is it that is 
troubled and grieved in thee] what is it that seems to 
be almost killed and destroyed, that cries out, complains, 
longs for deliverance'? Is it not the new creature 1 is 
it not the principle of spiritual life whereof thou art 
partaker] I speak not of trouble and disquiet for sia 



858 FORGIVEMESS OF SIN. 

committed, nor of fears and perturbations of mind lest 
sin should break forth to loss, shame, ruin, dishonor; 
nor of the contending of a convinced conscience lest 
damnation should ensue ; but of the striving of the spi- 
rit against sin from a hatred and loathing of it, in view 
of ail the considerations of love, grace, mercy, fear, the 
beauty of holiness, excellency of communion with God, 
that are proposed in the Gospel. If thou seemest to 
thyself to be only passive in these things, to do nothing 
but endure the assaults of sin ; yet if thou art sensible, 
and standest under the stroke of it as under the stroke 
of an enemy, there is the root of the matter. And as 
it is thus as to the substance and being of holiness, so 
it is also as to the degree of it. Degrees of holiness 
are to be measured very much by opposition. He may 
have more grace than another who brings not forth so 
much fruit, because he has more opposition, more temp- 
tation, Isa. 41 : 17; and a sense of the want of all. is a 
great sign of something genuine in the soul. 

II. As to what w T as alleged of the sense of nothing- 
ness and selfishness in duty, I say, 

1. It is certain whilst we are in the flesh our duties 
will taste of the vessel whence they proceed. Weakness, 
defilements, treachery, hypocrisy will attend them. To 
this purpose, whatever some pretend to the contrary, is 
the complaint of the church, Isa. 64:6. The chaff 
oftentimes is so mixed with the wheat that corn can 
scarce be discerned. And this know, that the more spi- 
ritual any man is, the more he sees of his want of spi- 
rituality in his spiritual duties. An outside performance 
will satisfy an outside christian. Job abhorred himself 
most when he knew himself best. The clearer disco- 



REGENERATION. 359 

veries we have of God, the viler will every thing of self 
appear. Nay, further, duties and performances are often 
very ill measured by us ; and those seem to be first 
which indeed are last, and those to be last which indeed 
are first. I do not doubt but a man, when he has had 
distractions to wrestle w r ith, no outward advantage to 
further him, no extraordinary incitements to hope, fear 
or sorrow, may rise from his knees with thoughts that 
he has done nothing in his duty but provoke God — when 
there has been more workings of grace in contending 
with the deadness of the soul, than w^hen, by a concur- 
rence of moved natural affections and outward provo- 
cations, a frame has been raised that to the party him- 
self has seemed to reach to heaven— so that it may be 
this perplexity about duties is nothing but what is com- 
mon to the people of God, and which ought to be no 
obstruction to peace and confidence. 

2. As to the complaint that we find hypocrisy in our 
hearts, you know what is usually answered : it is one 
thing to do a thing in hypocrisy, another not to do it 
without a mixture of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy, in its full 
extent, is every thing that in matter or manner comes 
short of sincerity. Now our sincerity is no more per- 
fect than our other graces; so that in its measure it 
abides with us, and adheres to all we do. In like man- 
ner it is one thing to do a thing for vain-glory or to be 
seen of men, and another not to be able wholly to keep 
off the subtle insinuations of self and vain-glory. He 
that does a thing in hypocrisy and for vain-glory is 
satisfied with some corrupt end obtained, though he be 
sensible that he sought such an end. He that does a 
thing from right motives but with some mixture of 



360 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

hypocrisy, that is, with some breaches upon the degree 
of his sincerity, with some insensible regard to outward 
considerations, is not satisfied with a self-end attained, 
and is dissatisfied with the defect of his sincerity. In a 
word, if sincere in private duties and in public perform- 
ances \ in praying, hearing, giving alms, zealous actings 
for God's glory and the love of the saints, though these 
duties are not sometimes done without some mixture 
of hypocrisy, I mean as traced to its most subtle insinu- 
ations of self and vain-glory, yet they are not done in 
hypocrisy, nor do they denominate the persons by whom 
they are performed li3 T pocrites. Yet I say of this, as of 
all that is spoken before, it is of use to relieve us under 
a troubled condition, but of none to support us or en- 
courage us to abide in it. 

3. Know that God despisetk not small things; he takes 
notice of the least breathings of our hearts after him, 
when we ourselves may perceive no such thing. He 
knows the mind of the Spirit in those workings which 
never rise to such a height that we can reflect upon 
them with our observation. Every thing that is of him 
is noted in his book, though not in ours ; he took notice, 
that when Sarah was acting unbelief towards him, yet 
she showed respect to Abraham. Gen. 18 : 12 ; 1 Pet. 3 : 
6. And even whilst his people are sinning, he can find 
something in their hearts, words or ways, that pleases 
him — much more so in their duties. He is a skilful re- 
finer that can find much gold in ore where we see no- 
thing but lead or clay. He remembers the duties which 
we forget, and blots out the sins which we remember. 
He justifies our persons, though ungodly, and will also 
our duties, though not perfectly godly. 



REGENERATION. 



361 



4. To give a little farther support in reference to our 
wretched miserable duties, and to them that are in per- 
plexities on that account, know that Jesus Christ takes 
whatever is evil and unsavory out of them, and makes 
them accepted. When an unskilful servant gathers herbs, 
flowers, and weeds in a garden, you gather those out 
that are useful, and cast the rest away. Christ deals so 
with our performances. All the ingredients of self that 
are in them he takes away, and adds incense to what 
remains, and presents it to God. This is the cause that 
the saints at the last day, when they meet their own 
duties and performances, know them not, they are so 
changed from what they were when they went out of 
their hands: "Lord, when saw we thee naked or hun- 
gry 1" so that God accepts a little, and Christ makes 
our little a great deal. 

5. Is this an argument to keep thee from believing ? 
The reason why thou art no more holy is, because thou 
hast no more faith. If thou hast no holiness, it is be- 
cause thou hast no faith ; holiness is the purifying of 
the heart by faith, or our obedience unto the truth. 
And the reason why thou art no more in duty, is that 
thou art no more in believing; the reason why thy du- 
ties are weak and imperfect, is that thy faith is weak 
and imperfect. Hast thou no holiness! believe, that 
thou mayest have ; hast thou but a little, or that which 
is imperceptible] be steadfast in believing, that thou 
mayest abound in obedience. Do not resolve not to eat 
thy meat until thou art strong, when thou hast no 
means of being strong but by eating thy bread, which 
strengthens the heart of man. 

III. The power of indwelling sin is another cause 

Forgiveness. 16 



362 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

of despondency : "They that are Christ's have crucified 
the flesh, with the lusts thereof." " But we find," say 
some, " corruptions working in our hearts, carrying us 
captive to the law of sin ; they disquiet with their 
power as well as with their guilt. Had we been made 
partakers of the law of the spirit of life, we had, ere 
this, been more set free from the law of sin and death. 
Had sin been pardoned fully, it would have been sub- 
dued more effectually." 

There are three considerations which make the act- 
ings of indwelling sin so perplexing to the soul. 

1. Because they are unexpected. The soul looks not 
for them after the first great conquest made of sin, and 
universal engagement of the heart unto God. When it 
first says, " I have sworn, and have steadfastly pur- 
posed to keep thy righteous judgment," commonly 
there is peace, at least for a season, from the vigorous 
actings of sin. There are many reasons why it should 
be so : old things are then passed away, all things are 
become new 5 and the soul, under the power of that 
universal change, is utterly turned away from those 
things that should foment or cherish any lust or temp- 
tation. Now, when some of these advantages are past, 
and sin begins to stir and act again, the soul is sur- 
prised, and thinks the work it hath passed through -was 
not true and effectual, but temporary only. Yea, he 
thinks perhaps that sin hath more strength than it had 
before, because he was more sensible to it than he was 
before. As one that hath a dead limb, whilst it is mor- 
tified endures deep cuttings and lancings, and feels 
them not; but when sense is brought into it again, he 
feels the least cut, and may think the instruments sharp 



REGENERATION. 



363 



er than they were before, and yet all the difference is, 
that he hath a quickness of sense which before he had 
not : so it may be with a person in this case ; he may 
think lust more powerful than it was before, because he 
is more sensible to it than he was before. Yea, sin in 
the heart is like a serpent; you may pull out its*sting 
and cut it in many pieces ; though it can sting mortally 
no more, nor move its whole body at once, yet it will 
move in all its parts, and make an appearance of great- 
er motion than formerly. So it is with lust, when it 
has received its death wound and is cut in pieces, yet 
it moves in so many parts as it were in the soul, that 
it amazes him that has to do with it; and thus coming 
unexpectedly, fills the spirit w r ith alarm. 

2. Indwelling sin has also in its actings a universality. 
This also surprises ; there is a universality in the act- 
ings of sin, even in believers. There is no evil that it 
will not move to ; no good that it will not attempt to 
hinder ; no duty that it will not defile. And the rea- 
son of this is, we are sanctified but in part ; not in 
any part wholly, though savingly and truly in every 
part. Sin remains in all the affections, and so may 
be acting in any form that the nature of man is liable 
to. Degrees of sin there are that all regenerate per- 
sons are exempted from ; but unto solicitations to all 
kinds of sin they are exposed ; and this helps on the 
temptation. 

3. It is endless and restless; never quiet, conquering 
nor conquered : it gives not over, but rebels being over- 
come ; or assaults afresh, having prevailed. Ofttimes, 
after a victory obtained and an opposition subdued, the 
soul is in expectation of rest and peace from its ene» 



364? FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

my; but this continues not. It works and rebels again 
and again, and will do so whilst we live in this world 5 
so that no end will be put to our conflict but by death. 
This is at large handled elsewhere, in a treatise on this 
peculiar subject. 

These actings of indwelling sin often embarrass the 
soul in making a judgment of itself, and leave it in the 
dark as to its state. But here further observe, 

1. The sensible, powerful actings of indwelling sin 
are not inconsistent with a state of grace. There are in 
the same person contrary principles, the flesh and the 
spirit; and there are contrary actings from these prin- 
ciples: "The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the 
spirit against the flesh, " Gal. 5 : 17, and these actings 
are described to be greatly vigorous : " Lust wars against 
our souls." James, 4 : 1 ; 1 Pet. 2:11. Now, to war is 
not to make faint or gentle opposition,, to be slighted 
and contemned, but it is to go out with great strength, 
to use craft, subtlety and force, so as to put the whole 
issue to hazard. So these lusts war; such are their act- 
ings in and against the soul. And therefore the apostle 
saith, " You cannot do the things that you would." Gal. 
5:1. In this conflict indeed the understanding is left 
unconquered ; it condemns and disapproves of the sin, 
and the will is not subdued; it would not do the evil 
that is pressed upon it, and there is a hatred or aversion 
remaining in the affections to sin : but yet sin rebels, 
fights and leads captive. Rom. 7 : 14-17. This objec- 
tion, then, may receive this speedy answer. Powerful 
actings, universal endless strugglings of indwelling sin, 
seducing to all that is evil, putting itself forth to the 
disturbance of all that is good, is no sufficient proof of 



WAITING ON GOD. 



365 



a state of alienation from God. See on this point the 
other treatise referred to. 

2. Your state is not at all to be measured by the 
opposition that sin makes to you, but by the opposition 
you make to it; be that ever so great, if this be good, be 
that ever so restless and powerful, if this be sincere, 
yet, though you may be disquieted, you can have no 
reason to despond. 

I have mentioned these things only to give a speci- 
men of the objections which men usually raise against 
an actual closing with forgiveness to their consolation: 
and have also given some rules for their relief, not in- 
tending in them absolute satisfaction as to the whole 
of the cases mentioned, but only so to remove the dark- 
ness raised by them that it may not hinder any from 
mixing with faith the word dispensed from this blessed 
testimony, that u there is forgiveness with God 3 that 
h© may be feared." 



CHAPTER XVIL 



EAENEST WAITING ON GOD, TEE FRUIT OF FORGIVENESS. — 
NATURE OF THIS DUTY. 



"We now proceed to the second part of this Psalm, 
which contains the deportment of a sin-perplexed soul, 
when by faith it has discovered where its rest lies, and 
from whom its relief is to be expected, even the for- 



366 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

giveness which is with God. And as before mentioned, 
there are two things in general that the soul in that 
condition applies itself to ; of which the first respects 
itself, and the other the whole Israel of God. 

That which respects itself is the description of the 
frame of heart and spirit into which the Psalmist was 
brought upon faith's discovery of forgiveness in God, 
with the duty to which he applied himself, the grounds 
of it, and the manner of its performance : 

/ wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word 
do I hope. My soul waiieth for the Lord, more than they 
that watch for the morning : I say, more than they thai 
watch for the morning, verses 5, 6. 

The words rendered strictly, or word for word, lie 
thus : " I have earnestly expected Jehovah ; my soul 
hath expected, and in his word I have tarried (or waited.) 
My soul to the Lord, more than (or before) the watch- 
men in the morning; the watchmen in the morning; (or 
unto the morning.") 

u I have waited, or expected;" the word in the original 
signifies to expect, to hope, to wait. It denotes to be in- 
tent on any one with great desire ; to behold or regard 
him, and to depend upon him; and it also expresses the 
earnest inclination and intention of the will and mind. 
Paul seems to have expressed this word to the full, 
Rom. 8 : 19, by apokaradokia, an intent or earnest ex- 
pectation, expressing itself by putting forth the head, 
and looking round with earnestness and diligence. And 
this is also signified expressly by this word, Psalm 49 : 
20, in the Hebrew, " And I looked for some to take 
pity." I looked round about, this way and that way, 
diligently and solicitously, to see if any would pity me, 



WAITING ON GOD. 367 

or lament with me. Thus, I have waited, is as much as, 
i% I have diligently, with intenseness of soul, mind, will 
and affections, looked unto God, in earnest expectation 
of that from him which I stand in need of. and which 
must come forth from the forgiveness that is with him." 

I have, saith he, waited for, or expected Jehovah ; he 
uses the same name of God in his expectation, that he 
first fixes on in his application to him. 

It is not this or that means, nor this or that assistance, 
but it is Jehovah himself that he expects and waits for. It 
is Jehovah himself that must satisfy the soul: his favor 
and loving kindness, and what flows from them. If he 
come not himself, if he give not himself, nothing else will 
relieve. 

" My soul doth wait" or expect ; it is no outward du- 
ty I am engaged, in, no lip-labor, no bodily work, no 
formal, cold, careless performance of a duty : no, " my 
soul doth wait ; " it is soul-work, heart-work ; I wait, I 
wait with my whole soul. 

"In his word do I hope" or wait. There is no diffi- 
culty in these words ; the word used (in the Hebrew) 
signifies tc to hope, expect, endure and sustain, with 
care, solicitousness and endeavors." Hence the Septu- 
agint have rendered the word, " I have sustained and 
waited with patience;" and this on the word: he sus- 
tained his soul with the word of promise, that it should 
not utterly faint. Seeing he had made a discovery of 
grace and forgiveness, though yet at a great distance; 
he had a sight of land, though he was yet in a storm at 
sea; and therefore so encourages himself, or his soul, 
that he does not despond. 

But yet all this reaches not the intenseness of the 



368 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

soul of the Psalmist in this his expectation of Jeho- 
vah. The earnest engagement of his soul in this duty 
rises above what he can express. Therefore he pro- 
ceeds, "My soul waiteth for the Lord," that is, expects 
him, looks for him, waits for his coming to me in love, 
and with forgiveness, " more than the watchers for the 
mornings the watchers for the morning" The words 
may refer generally to those who keep the watch of the 
night, as they look, and long for, and expect the morn- 
ing, when being dismissed from their guard, they may 
take the sleep they need and desire ; or, they may refer 
to watching in the temple as the Chaldee paraphrast 
renders the words : "more than they that look for the 
morning-watch, which they carefully observe, that they 
may offer the morning sacrifice." In this sense, as the 
watchers in the temple look diligently for the appear- 
ance of the morning, that they may with joy offer the 
morning sacrifice in the appointed season ; so, and with 
more diligence, does my soul wait for Jehovah. 

We have then the expression of the duty on which 
he was intent, earnest waiting for Jehovah ; the foun- 
dation of his waiting and expectation ; that is, the word 
of God, the word of promise ; he diligently hoped in 
the word ; and the frame of his spirit in this duty, and 
the manner of his performance of it, as expressed in 
the words themselves that he uses in the emphatical 
reduplication, yea, triplication of his expression, " I 
wait for God, my soul waiteth for God, my soul for the 
Lord;" and in the comparison instituted between his 
discharge of his duty, and other performances of a cor- 
poreal watch, with the greatest care and diligence, 
tf more than they that watch for the morning." 



WAITING ON GOD. 36$ 

Let us then now consider the words, as they contain 
the frame and working of a sin- entangled soul. 

Having been raised out of his depths by the discovery 
of forgiveness in God, yet not being immediately made 
partaker of that forgiveness, as to a comforting sense 
of it, he gathers up his soul from wandering from 
God, and supports it from sinking under his present 
condition. 

" It is," saith he, " Jehovah alone, with whom is for- 
giveness, that can relieve and do me good ; his favor, 
his loving-kindness, his communication of mercy and 
grace is what I need 5 on him therefore do I with all 
needfulness attend ; on him do I wait \ my soul is filled 
with expectation from him : surely he will come to me, 
he will come and refresh me , though he seem as yet to 
be afar off, and to leave me in these depths, yet I have 
his word of promise to support and stay my soul, on 
which I will lean until I obtain the enjoyment of him 
and his kindness, which is better than life." 

And this is the frame of a sin-entangled soul, who 
hath really by faith discovered forgiveness in God, but 
is not yet made partaker of a comforting, refreshing 
sense of it. And we may represent it in the ensuing 
observations. 

The first proper fruit of faith's discovery of forgive- 
ness in God to a sin-distressed soul, is waiting in pa- 
tience and expectation. 

The proper object of a sin-distressed souPs waiting 
and expecting, is God himself as reconciled in Christ: 
** I have waited for Jehovah." 

The word of promise is the souPs great support in 
waiting for God; Kt in thy word do I hope." 

IS* 



370 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

Sin-distressed souls wait for God with earnestness, 
diligence and expectation, from the redoubling of the 
expression. 

Continuance in waiting until God appears to the soul, 
is necessary and prevailing ; necessary, as that without 
which we cannot attain assistance; and prevailing, as 
that wherein we shall never fail. 

Establishment in waiting on God where there is no 
present sense of forgiveness, yet gives the soul much 
secret rest and comfort. The Psalmist having attained 
thus far, can now look about him, as in the closing 
verses, and begin to deal with others, and exhort them 
to an expectation of grace and mercy. 

And thus, though the soul be not absolutely in the 
haven of consolation where it would be, yet it has cast 
out an anchor that gives it establishment and security. 
Though it be still tossed, yet it is secured from ship- 
wreck, and is rather sick than in danger : waiting on God 
is a condition of safety. 

Hence he now turns himself to others, and on his 
discovery of forgiveness in God, and the establishment 
and consolation he found in waiting on him, he calls 
upon and encourages others to the same duty. ver. 7, 8. 

Our design in this treatise involves the consideration 
of all the above propositions; still, with respect to the 
state of the soul represented in the Psalm, many things 
that might justly be insisted on in the improvement of 
these truths have been anticipated in our former gene- 
ral rules. To them we must therefore refer, to avoid 
repetition. We shall notice the principal points with 
all possible brevity, yet so as not wholly to omit any 
directions here tendered to us as to the guidance of 



WAITING ON GOD. 371 

the soul, whose condition, and the working of whose 
faith, is here described. 

We proceed then to consider the duty of waiting on 
God for forgiveness. 

This the Psalmist expresses to have been both his 
duty and his practice. And he does it so emphatically 
that I know not that any duty is any where in the Scrip- 
tures recommended to us with such lively representa- 
tions. Call to mind then what has been said concerning 
the state of the soul inquired into : its depths, entan- 
glements and sense of sin, with its application to God 
about those things, as also what has been said of the 
nature of forgiveness, with the revelation that is made 
of it to the faith of believers ; and that this may be done 
where the soul has no refreshing sense of its own inte- 
rest therein. It knows not that its own sins are for- 
given, although it believes that there is forgiveness with 
God. Now, the principal duty incumbent on such a soul 
is that laid down in our first proposition, namely, patient 
waiting and expectation. 

And here, 1. The nature of the duty itself is to be 
declared. And, 2. The necessity and usefulness oi its 
practice is to be evinced and demonstrated. 

As to the nature of this duty, we may observe that it 
does not consist in any particular acting of the soul, but 
in its whole spiritual frame and deportment in reference 
to the end desired. And this waiting, which is compre- 
hensive of the especial duties of the soul in the case 
described, comprehends these three things : 1. Quiet- 
ness in opposition to haste and tumultuousness of spirit. 
2. Diligence in opposition to spiritual sloth, despon- 
dency and neglect of means. 3. Expectation in opposi- 



372 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

tion to despair, distrust, and other actings of unbelief. 

1. Quietness, or composure of spirit. Hence this wait- 
ing is sometimes expressed by silence : u It is good 
both to hope (in the Heb.) and to be silent, for the sal- 
vation of the Lord," Lam. 3 : 26, that is, to wait quietly, 
as we have rendered the word. And the same word we 
sometimes render rest : "Rest on the Lord," Psalm 
37 : 7, (in the Heb. be silent unto him,) where it is joined 
with hoping or waiting, as what belongs to its nature 3 
and so in sundry other places. And this God in an espe- 
cial manner calls souls unto in straits and distresses: 
" In quietness and confidence," saith he, " shall be your 
strength." Isaiah, 30 : 15. And the effect of the righ- 
teousness of God by Christ is said to be " quietness 
and assurance for ever." Isaiah, 32 : 17. First quiet- 
ness, and then assurance. Now, this silence and quiet- 
ness which accompanies w 7 aiting, yea, which is an 
essential part of it, is 

Opposed to haste. Haste is the soul's undue lifting up 
itself, proceeding from a weariness of its condition, to 
press after an end of its troubles, not according to the 
conduct of the Spirit of God. Thus, when God calls his 
people to waiting, he expresses the contrary by the lifting 
up of the soul : " Though the vision tarry, wait for it; be- 
hold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, 
but the just shall live by his faith." Hab. 2 : 3, 4. God 
has given the soul a vision of peace through the disco- 
very of forgiveness with him ; but he will have us wait 
for an actual participation and enjoyment of it. He that 
will not do so, but lifts up his soul, that is, in making 
haste beyond the rule and method of the Spirit of God 
in this matter, his heart is not upright in him, nor will 



WAITING ON GOD. 373 

he know what it is to live by faith. This ruins and dis- 
appoints many a soul in its attempts for forgiveness. 
The prophet, speaking of this matter, tells us that V he 
that believeth shall not (and will not) make haste." Isa. 
28 : 16. Which words the apostle twice making use 
of, in both places renders them, M Whosoever believeth 
on him shall not be ashamed," or confounded. Rom. 
9 : 33 \ 10 : 11. And that because this haste turns men 
off from believing, and so disappoints their hopes and 
leaves them to shame and confusion. Men, with a sense 
of the guilt of sin, having some discovery made to them 
of the rest and peace which they may obtain by for- 
giveness, are ready to catch greedily at it, and make 
false, unsound, undue applications of it to themselves. 
They cannot bear the yoke that the Lord hath put upon 
them, but grow impatient under it, and cry with Rachel, 
" Give me children, or I die." Any way, they would 
obtain it. Now, as the first duty of such a soul is to ap- 
ply itself to waiting, so the first entrance into waiting 
consists in this silence and quietness of heart and spirit* 
This is the soul's endeavor to keep itself humble, satis- 
fied with the sovereign pleasure of God, and refusing 
all ways and means of rest and peace but what it is 
guided and directed to by the word and Spirit. 

As true waiting on God is opposed to haste, so it is 
to tumultuous thoughts and disquiet. The soul is silent, 
"I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou 
didst it." Psalm 39 : 9. He redoubles the expression, 
by which he describes his endeavor to quiet his soul in 
the will of God. In the condition represented the soul 
is apt to have many tumultuous thoughts, or a multi- 
tude of perplexing thoughts, of no use or advantage to 



374 FORGIVENESS OF SIN* 

it. How they are to be watched against and rejected 
was before declared in our general rules : this quietness 
in waiting will prevent thern. 

2. Diligence, in opposition to spiritual sloth, is in- 
cluded in the duty of waiting on God. Diligence is 
the activity of the mind in the regular use of means 
for the pursuit of any end proposed. The end aimed 
at by the soul is a comforting, refreshing interest in 
forgiveness with God. For the attaining of this, God 
has instituted and blessed various means. A neglect 
of them, through negligence or sloth, will certainly 
disappoint the soul from attaining that end. It is con- 
fessedly so in things natural. He that soweth not, 
must not think to reap 3 he that clothes not himself, 
will not be warm ; nor will he enjoy health who ne- 
glects the means of it. Men understand this as to 
their outward concerns, and though they have a due 
respect to the blessing of God, they expect not to be 
rich without industry. It is so also in things spiritual. 
God has appointed one thing to be the means of obtain- 
ing another; in the use of them he blesses us, and from 
the use of them doth his glory arise ; because they are 
his own appointment. This diligence wholly respects 
practice, or the regular use of means. A man is said to 
be diligent in business, to have a diligent hand : though 
it be an affection of the mind, yet it simply respects 
practice and effort. This diligence in his waiting, Da- 
vid expresses, Psalm 40 : 1. We render it, "I waited 
patiently ;" that is, (in the Hebrew,) " waiting, I have 
waited;" that is, diligently, earnestly, in the use of 
means. So he describes this duty by an elegant simili- 
tude: "Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the 



WAITING ON GOD. 375 

liand of their masters ; and as the eyes of a maiden un- 
to the hand of her mistress ; so our eyes wait upon the 
Lord our God until he have mercy on us." Psalm 
123 : 2. Servants that wait upon their masters, and 
look to their hands, expect an intimation of their mind 
as to what they would have them do. So, says David, 
do we wait for mercy \ not in a slothful neglect of duty, 
but in a constant readiness to observe the will of God 
in all his commands. 

An illustration of this we have in the spouse, when 
she was in the condition here described. Cant. 3 : 1, 2. 
She wanted the presence of her Beloved, and where the 
presence of Christ is not, there can be no sense of for- 
giveness. At first she seeks him upon her bed: "By 
night, upon my bed, I sought him whom my soul loveth, 
I sought him, but I found him not." And does she rest 
in merely desiring him \ No, she resolves to use all 
means. In the city, streets and fields she would in- 
quire after him. And the blessed result is, " She found 
him, she held him, she would not let him go." verse 4. 
This then belongs to the waiting of the soul. Diligence 
in the use of means, whereby God is pleased ordinarily 
to communicate a sense of pardon and forgiveness, is a 
principal part of it. What these means are, is known. 
Prayer, meditation, reading, the dispensation of the 
word and ordinances are all appointed to this purpose ; 
they are all means of communicating love and grace to 
the soul. Be not then heartless or slothful ; up and be 
doing ; attend with diligence to the word of grace ; be 
fervent in prayer, assiduous in the use of all ordinances, 
that thou mayest find him whom thy soul loveth \ and 
God, through him, will speak peace unto thee. 



BT6 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

3. There is expectation in true waiting on God, which 
Is in direct opposition to all the actings of unbelief, and 
is the very life and soul of the duty under consideration. 
So the Psalmist declares, "My soul, wait thou only up- 
on God •) for my expectation is from him." Psalm 62 : 5. 
The soul will not, cannot in a due manner wait on God, 
unless it has expectation from him ; unless, as James 
speaks, he looks to receive some good from him. chap. 
1 : 7. The soul in this condition regards forgiveness 
not only as by itself desired, but principally as it is by 
God promised. This is expressed in the fourth proposi- 
tion before laid down, namely, That sin-distressed souls 
wait for God with earnestness, intentness of mind and 
expectation. As this appears from the redoubling of 
the Psalmist's expression, " I wait ; my soul doth wait j" 
it also does principally from the nature of the compari- 
son that he makes of himself with them that watch for 
the morning". Those that watch for the morning not 
only desire it and prepare for it, but they expect it, and 
know assuredly that it will come. Though darkness 
may, for a time, be troublesome, and continue longer 
than they would desire, yet they know that the morn- 
ing has its appointed time of return, beyond which 
it will not tarry 5 therefore they look out for its ap- 
pearance. 

So it is with the soul. " In the morning," says David, 
n will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." 
Psalm 5 : 3. The Psalmist seems here to declare the 
general frame of his spirit in walking with God. M I 
will," saith he, " order all things towards God," so as 
that I may wait upon him in the ways of his appoint- 
ment, fl and will look up." The last expression seemt 



WAITING ON COD. 377 

in our translation to express his posture in prayer. But 
the word is of another import. It is diligently to look 
after that which is coming towards us, a looking-out 
after the accomplishment of our expectation. This is a 
part of waiting for God ; yea, as was said, the life of it, 
that which is principally intended in it. The prophet 
calls it his standing upon his watch-tower and watch- 
ing to see what God would speak to him, Hab. 2:1. 
namely, in answer to the prayer which he put up in his 
trouble. He is now waiting in expectation of an answer 
from God. And this is that to which poor, weak, trem- 
bling sinners are so encouraged, " Strengthen the weak 
hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say unto them 
that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not, behold 
your God will come." Isaiah, 35 : 3, 4. Weakness and 
discouragements are the effects of unbelief. These he 
would have removed with an expectation of the coming 
of God to the soul, according to the promise. And this 
I say belongs to the waiting of the soul in the condition 
described. Such a one expects that God will, in his 
season, manifest himself and his love to him, and give 
him an experimental sense of a blessed interest in for- 
giveness. And the accomplishment of this purpose and 
promise of God, he looks out after continually. He will 
not despond and be heartless, but stir up and strengthen 
himself to a full expectation to have the desires of his 
soul satisfied in due time ; as we find David doing in 
places almost innumerable. 

This is the duty that in the first place is recom- 
mended to the soul which is persuaded that there is 
forgiveness with God, but sees not its own interest 
therein. Wait on the Lord. And it has two properties, 



378 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

when it is duly performed ; namely, patience and perse- 
verance. By the one, men are kept to the length of 
God's time $ by the other, they are preserved to the ex- 
tent of their own duty. 

And this is what was laid down in the third proposi- 
tion drawn from the words 5 namely, That continuance 
in watching until God appears to the soul, is necessary , 
as that without which we cannot attain what we look af- 
ter 1 and prevailing, as that wherein we shall never fail. 

God is not to be limited, nor his time prescribed to 
him. We know our way, and the end of our journey; 
but our stations of especial rest we must wait for at 
his mouth, as the people did in the wilderness. When 
David comes to God in his great distress he says, " O 
Lord, thou art my God, my times are in thine hand." 
Psalm 31 : 14, 15. His times of trouble and of peace, 
of darkness and of light, he acknowledged to be in the 
hand and at the disposal of God ; so that it was his 
duty to wait His time and season for his share and por- 
tion in them. 

During this state the soul meets with much opposi- 
tion and many difficulties and perplexities, especially if 
its darkness be of long continuance : as with some it 
abides many years, with some all the days of their lives. 
Their hope being hereby deferred, makes their hearts 
sick, and their spirits often faint ; and this fainting is a 
defect in waiting, for want of perseverance and conti- 
nuance frustrates the en<J. So David, " I had fainted un- 
less I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord." 
Psalm 27 : 13. Had I not received support by faith, I 
had fainted. What was this fainting 1 It was a relin- 
quishment of waiting on God, as he manifests by the 



WAITING ON GOD. 379 

exhortation which he gives to himself and others : 
,f Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall 
strengthen thy heart , wait, I say, on the Lord." ver. 14>. 
Wait with courage and resolution, that thou faint not. 
And the apostle puts the blessed event of faith and obe- 
dience upon the avoidance of this evil : w We shall reap, 
if we faint not." Gal. 6 : 9. Hence we have both en- 
couragement given against it, and promises that in the 
w r ay of God we shall not be overtaken with it. M Con- 
sider the Lord Christ," saith the apostle, " the Captain 
of your salvation, lest ye be wearied, and faint in your 
minds." Heb. 12:3. Nothing else can cause you to 
come short of the mark aimed at. " They," saith the 
prophet, " who w r ait on the Lord," that is, in the use of 
the means by him appointed, " shall not faint." Isaiah, 
40 : 3L 

This continuace in waiting, then, 

1. Is necessary. They that watch for the morning, to 
whose frame and actings the waiting of the soul for God 
is compared, give not over until the light appears ; or 
if they do, if they are wearied and faint, and so cease 
watching, all their former pains will be lost, and they 
lie down in disappointment. So will it be with the soul 
that deserts its watch, and faints in its waiting. If, on 
the eruption of new lusts or corruptions; if, on the re- 
turn of old temptations or the assaults of new ones ; if, 
on a revived perplexing sense of guilt, or on the tedious- 
ness of working and laboring so much and so long in 
the dark, the soul begins to say in itself, I have looked 
for light, and behold darkness ; for peace, and yet trou- 
ble cometh ; the summer is past, the harvest is ended, 
and I am not relieved \ such and such blessed means 



880 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

have been enjoyed, and yet I have not attained rest, and 
so gives over its waiting on God, it will at length utter- 
ly fail and come short of the grace aimed at. " Thou 
hast labored and hast not fainted" brings the reward. 
Sev. 2 : 3. 

2. Perseverance in waiting is assuredly prevalent: 
and this renders it a necessary part of the duty itself. 
If we continue to w T ait for the vision of peace, it will 
come, it will not tarry, but answer our expectation of 
it. Never soul perished that abode in this duty to the 
end. The joys of heaven may sometimes come before 
settled consolation in this life j God sometimes gives in 
the full harvest without sending the first fruits afore- 
hand, but spiritual and eternal peace and rest is the in- 
fallible end of permanent waiting on God. 

This is the duty that the Psalmist declares himself 
to be engaged in, on the encouraging discovery which 
was made him of forgiveness in God. "There is for- 
giveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared : I wait 
for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do 
I hope." And this is what in a similar state is re- 
quired of us. This is the great direction which was 
given us in the example and practice of the Psalmist, 
as to our duty and deportment in the condition de- 
scribed. This was the way whereby he rose out of 
his depths and escaped out of his entanglements. And 
is any reader in these depths'! Let him hence draw 
directions in duty. 

1. Encourage your soul unto waiting on God. Do 
new fears arise, do old alarms continue 1 say unto your 
soul, ,f Yet wait on God; why art thou cast down, O my 
bou1 ? and why art thou disquieted within me 1 hope in 



WAITING ON GOD, 381 

God, for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my 
countenance, and my God." So the Psalmist speaks else- 
where : " Wait on God and be of good courage ;" shake 
off sloth, rouse up yourself from under despondencies, 
let not fears prevail. This is the only way for suc- 
cess, and it will assuredly be prevalent. Oppose this 
resolution to every discouragement, and it will give new 
life to faith and hope : say, " My flesh faileth, and my 
heart faileth ; but God is the strength of my heart, and 
my portion for ever," as Psalm 73 : 26. Though thy 
perplexed thoughts have even wearied and worn out the 
outward man, as in many they do, so that flesh faileth ; 
and though thou hast no refreshing evidence from with- 
in, from thyself or thy own experience, so that thy heart 
faileth ; yet resolve to look to God, there is strength in 
him, and satisfaction in him, for the whole man : he is a 
rock and a portion. This will strengthen things which 
otherwise will be ready to die. This will keep life in 
thy course, and stir thee up to plead with God in an ac- 
ceptable season, when he will be found. Job wrought 
up his condition to a supposition that God might slay 
him ; that is, add one stroke, one rebuke unto another, 
till he was consumed;' and so take him out of the world 
in darkness and in sorrow. Yet he resolved to trust, to 
hope, to wait on him, as knowing that he should not 
utterly fail in so doing. 

This frame the church expresses so admirably, that 
nothing can be added thereto. " Thou hast removed 
my soul far off from peace. I forgat prosperity. And 
I said my strength and my hope is perished from the 
Lord 5 remembering mine aftliction and my misery, the 
wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in re- 



382 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

rnembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to 
my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's 
mercies that we are not consumed, because his com- 
passions fail not. They are new every morning : great 
is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my 
soul, therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good to 
them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly 
wait for the salvation of the Lord." Lam. 3 : 17-26. 
We have here both the condition and the duty fully ex- 
pressed. The condition is sad and bitter, the soul is in 
depths, far from peace and rest. ver. 17. In this state it 
is ready utterly to faint, and to give up all for lost, both 
strength for the present and hopes for the future, verse 
18. This makes^its condition full of sorrow and bitter- 
ness, and its own thoughts become like wormwood and 
gall, verses 19, 20. But does he lie down under the bur- 
den- of all this troubled does he despond, and give 
over % No, saith he, I call to mind that there is for- 
giveness with God, grace, mercy, goodness for the re- 
lief of distressed souls, such as are in my condition, 
ver. 21-23. Thence the conclusion is, that as all help 
is to be looked for, all relief expected from him alone, 
so it is good that a man should quietly wait, and hope 
for the salvation of God. This he stirs up himself to, as 
the best, as the most blessed course for his deliverance. 
2. Kemember that diligent use of the means, for the 
end aimed at, is a necessary ingredient of waiting on 
God. Take in the consideration of this direction also. 
Do not think to be freed from your entanglements by 
restless, heartless desiring that it were otherwise with 
you : means are to be used, that relief may be obtained. 



WAITING ON GOD. 3S3 

What those means are, is known to all : mortification 
of sin, prayer, meditation, due attendance on all gospel- 
ordinances 5 conferring in general about spiritual things; 
advising in particular about our own state with those 
who, having received the tongue of the learned, are able 
to speak a word in season to them that are weary. And 
in all these are diligence and perseverance to be exer- 
cised ; or in vain shall men desire a delivery from their 
entanglements. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



WAITING ON GOD ONLY, 

We have seen what is the duty intended in the pro- 
position, that God is the proper object of the soul's 
waiting in its distresses and depths- We are next to 
consider the reason of it: why this is the first and 
principal duty of souls who in their depths have it dis- 
covered unto them that there is forgiveness with God \ 
and the reason is, as expressed in our second observa- 
tion above, 

That the proper object of a sin-distressed souPs 
waiting and expectation, is God himself as revealed in 
Christ. I have, saith the Psalmist, waited for Jehovah: 
it is not this or that mercy or grace, this or that help 
or relief; but it is Jehovah himself that I wait for. And 
here we must show in what sense God himself is the 



384« FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

object of the waiting soul ; and then how it appears that 
waiting on him is so necessary a duty. 

It is not grace, mercy, or relief absolutely consider- 
ed, but the God of all grace that is the full adequate ob- 
ject of the soul's waiting and expectation ; only herein 
he is not considered absolutely in his own nature, but 
as there is forgiveness with him through Jesus Christ. 
As in him he hath fouud a ransom, and accepted the 
atonement for sinners in his blood ; as he is a God in 
covenant, so he is himself the object of our desire. 

All troubles, depths, entanglements, arise from the 
absence of God from the soul ; and from his displeasure. 

The absence of God from the soul> by his departure, 
withdrawing, or hiding himself from it, is that which 
principally casts it into depths: u Wo unto them," saith 
the Lord, " when I depart from them." Hos. 9 : 12. And 
this wo, this sorrow attends not only a universal, a total 
departure of God from the soul, but a departure which 
is gradual or partial in some things, in some seasons. 
When God withdraws his enlightening, his refreshing, 
his comforting presence, as to any ways or means 
whereby he hath formerly communicated himself unto 
the souls of any, then wo to them, sorrow comes upon 
them, and they fall into depths and entanglements. 
Now, this condition calls for earnest waiting on God. 
If God be withdrawn, if he hides himself, what hath the 
soul to do but to wait for his return? So saith the 
prophet : u I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his 
face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him." 
Isaiah, 8 : 17. If God hide himself, this is the natural 
and proper duty of the soul, to wait and to look for him : 
other courses of relief it cannot apply itself to. What 



WAITING ON GOD. 385 

that waiting is, and in what it consists, has been shown. 
Patient seeking of God in the ways of his appointment, 
is comprised in it : this the prophet expresses in that 
saying, "I will look for him;" it is indeed the same in 
the original with that in the psalm: "I will earnestly 
look out after him, with expectation of his return un- 
to me." 

A sense of Go(Ts displeasure is another cause of these 
depths and troubles, and of the continuance of the soul 
in them, notwithstanding it has made a blessed dis- 
covery by faith, that there is with him forgiveness. It 
all has respect to sin ; and the reason of the trouble 
that arises from sin, is because of the displeasure of 
God against it. What then is the proper posture and 
frame of the sinner towards God as displeased] Shall 
he contend with him] shall he harden himself against 
him] shall he despise his wrath and contemn his threat- 
enings ] or shall he hide himself from him, so to avoid 
the effects of his wrath] Who knows not how ruinous 
and pernicious to the soul such courses would be, and 
how many are ruined by them every day ] Patient 
waiting on him is the soul's only resource. 

This duty flows also from the greatness and sovereignty 
of Him with whom we have to do : " My soul waiteth 
for Jehovah." Indeed, waiting is a duty that depends 
on the distance between the persons concerned in it, 
namely, he that waiteth and he that is waited on ; so 
the Psalmist teaches us, Psalm 123 : 2. And the greater 
this distance is, the more cogent are the reasons of the 
duty on all occasions. And because we are practically 
averse to the performance of this duty, or at least 
quickly grow weary of it, notwithstanding our full con- 

Forgivenesa. 1« 



386 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

victions of its necessity, I shall a little insist on some 
such considerations of God and ourselves as may not 
only evince the necessity of this duty, but so satisfy us 
of its reasonableness that we may be engaged to it and 
preserved in it. 

Two things to this purpose we may consider in God, 
in Jehovah, whom we are to wait for: 1. His being, 
and the absolute and essential properties of his nature ; 
2. Those attributes of his nature which respect his 
dealing with us ; both which are suited to beget in us 
affections and a frame of spirit according with the duty 
proposed. 

L Let us consider the glorious Being of Jehovah^ 
with his absolute incommunicable essential excellences ] 
and then try whether it does not become us in every 
condition to wait for him, and especially in that under 
consideration. This course God himself took with Job 
to recover him from his discontents and complaints, to 
reduce him to quietness and waiting. He sets before 
him his own glorious greatness as manifested in the 
works of his power, that thereby, being convinced of 
his own ignorance, weakness and infinite distance in 
all things from him, he might humble his soul into the 
most submissive dependence on him and waiting for 
him. And such was the result: " I abhor myself, and 
repent in dust and ashes." Job, 42 : 6. His soul now 
comes to be willing to be at God's disposal, and therein 
he found present rest and a speedy healing of his con- 
dition. It is the " high and lofty One that inhabiteth 
eternity, whose name is holy," Isa. 57 : 15, with whom 
we have to do : he that " sitteth upon the circle of the 



WAITING ON GOD. 387 

earth, and the inhabitants of it are as grasshoppers be- 
fore him ; yea, the nations are as the drop of the bucket, 
and are counted as the small dust of the balance : he 
taketh up the isles as a very little thing ; all nations be- 
fore him are as nothing, they are counted unto him less 
than nothing, and vanity." Isa. 40 : 15, 17, 22. To what 
end doth the Lord thus set forth and declare his glo- 
rious greatness and power % It is that all might be 
brought to trust in him and wait for him, as at large 
declared in the close of the chapter. For shall grass- 
hoppers, a drop of the bucket, dust of the balance, 
things less than nothing, repine against or wax weary 
of the will of the immense, glorious and lofty One 1 
He that taketh up the isles as a very little thing may 
surely, if he please, destroy or forsake one isle, one 
city in an isle, one person in a city ; and we are before 
him but single persons. 

Serious thoughts of this infinite, all-glorious Being, 
will either quiet our souls or overwhelm them. All our 
weariness of his dispensations towards us arises from 
secret imaginings that he is such a one as ourselves ; 
one that is to do nothing but what seems good in our 
eyes. But if we cannot comprehend his being, we can- 
not make rules to judge of his ways and proceedings. 
And how small a portion is it that we know of God ! 
The nearest approaches of our reason and imagination 
leave us still at an infinite distance from him; and in* 
deed we know not well the import of what we speak 
of his greatness ; we only declare our respect to that 
which we believe and adore, but are not able to compre- 
hend. All our thoughts come as far short of his excel- 
lent greatness as our natures do of his — that is, infi* 



388 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

nitely. Behold the universe, the glorious fabric of hea- 
ven and earth ! how little is it that we know of its 
beauty, order and design ! yet was it all the product of 
the word of his mouth ; and with the same facility can 
he, when he pleaseth, reduce it to its primitive nothing. 
And what are we poor worms of the earth, an incon- 
siderable unknown part of the lower series and order 
of the works of his hands, few in number, fading in 
condition, disregarded even by most of our fellow-crea- 
tures, that we should withdraw ourselves from under 
his dealings with us, or be weary of waiting for his 
pleasure ! This he presses on us : " Be still, and know 
that I am God." Psalm 46 : 10. Let there be no more 
repinings, no more disputings ; continue waiting in si- 
lence and patience ; consider who I am : " Be still, and 
know that I am God." 

Further, to help us in this consideration, let us direct 
our minds towards some of the glorious, essential, in- 
communicable properties of his nature distinctly : as > 

1. His eternity. This Moses proposes, to bring the 
souls of believers to submission, trust and waiting ; 
" From everlasting to everlasting thou art God." Psalm 
90 : 2. One that hath his being and subsistence, not in 
a duration of time, but in eternity itself. So doth Hab- 
bakkuk also: "My Lord, my God, my holy One, art 
thou not from everlasting 1" Hab. 1 : 12. And hence he 
draws his conclusion against making haste in any con- 
dition, and for tarrying and waiting for God. The like 
consideration is managed by David also. Psalm 102 : 27, 
How inconceivable is this glorious, divine property to 
the thoughts and minds of men! how weak are the 
ways and terms whereby they go about to express it ! 



WAITING ON GOD. 3S9 

One says, it is a nunc stans ;* another, that it is a per- 
petual duration. He that says most only signifies what he 
knows of what it is not. We are of yesterday, change 
every moment, and are leaving our station to-morrow. 
God is still the same from eternity. And now I cannot 
conceive what I have said, but only have intimated what 
I adore. The whole duration of the world, from the be- 
ginning unto the end, takes up no space in this eternity 
of God : for how long soever it hath continued or may 
yet continue, it will all amount but to so many thou- 
sand years — so long a time, and time hath no place in 
eternity. And for us who have in this matter to do with 
God, what is our continuance to that of the world 1 a 
moment, as it were, in comparison. When men's lives 
were of old prolonged beyond the continuance of em- 
pires or kingdoms now, yet this was the winding up of 
all-— such an one lived so many years, " and he died." 
Gen. 5. And what are we poor worms, whose lives are 
measured by inches, in comparison of their span 1 what 
are we before the eternal God, God always immutably 
subsisting in his own infinite being 1 A real considera- 
tion of these things will subdue the soul into a condi- 
tion of dependence on him, and of waiting for him. 

2. The immensity of his essence, and his omnipresence^ 
should be in like manner considered. "Do not I fill 
heaven and earth 1 saith the Lord." Jer. 23 : 24. " The 
heavens, even the heaven of heavens," the supreme and 
most comprehensive created thing, cannot contain him, 
saith Solomon. In his infinitely glorious being he is 
present with all places, things, times, all the works of 

* Now remaining, continuing as before. 



390 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

his hands ; and is no less gloriously subsisting where 
they are not. God is where heaven and earth are not, 
no less than where they are ; where there is no place, 
no space, real or imaginary, God is, for place and ima- 
gination have nothing to do with immensity; and he is 
present every where in the creation : where I am writ- 
ing, where you are reading; he is present with you. 
The thoughts of men's hearts for the most part are, 
that God, as to his essence, is in heaven only : and it 
is well if some think he is there, seeing they live and 
act as if there were neither God nor devil but them- 
selves. But, on these apprehensions, such thoughts are 
ready secretly to arise and effectually to prevail, as are 
expressed, V How doth God know 1 can he judge througii 
the dark] Thick clouds are as a covering unto him, 
that he seeth not ; and he walketh in the circuit of the 
heavens." Job, 22 : 13, 14. Apprehensions of God's dis- 
tance from men harden them in their ways : but he is 
11 around them ; God is every where ; and a man 
may, on all occasions, say with Jacob, Cf God is in this 
place, and I knew it not." Let the soul, then, who is 
thus called to wait on God, exercise itself with thoughts 
about this immensity of his nature and being. Compre- 
hend it, fully understand it we never can \ but the con- 
sideration of it will impress such awe of his greatness 
upon our hearts that we shall learn to tremble before 
him, and be willing to wait for him in all things. 

3. Thoughts of the holiness of God, or the infinite 
purity of this eternal immense Being, are singularly 
useful to the same end. This is what Eliphaz affirms 
that he received by vision, to reply to the complaint 
and impatience of Job. After he has declared his vision 



WAITING ON GOD. 391 

with the manner of it, this he affirms to be the revela- 
tion that by voice was made to him : " Shall mortal 
man be more just than Godl shall a man be more pure 
than his Maker] Behold, he putteth no trust in his 
servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly. How 
much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose 
foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the 
moth!" Job, 4 : 12-19. If the saints and angels in 
heaven do not answer this infinite holiness of God in 
their most perfect condition, is it meet for worms of 
the earth to suppose that any thing which proceeds 
from him is not absolutely holy and perfect, and so best 
for them] This is the fiery property of the nature of 
God, whence he is called a consuming fire, and everlast- 
ing burnings : and the law, on which he hath impressed 
some representation of it, is called a fiery law, as that 
which will consume and burn up whatever is perverse 
and evil. Hence the prophet>who had a representation 
of the glory of God in a vision, and heard the seraphim 
proclaiming his holiness, cried out, " Wo is me ! for I 
am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips." Isaiah, 
6 : 5. He thought it impossible that he should bear 
that near approach of the holiness of God. And with 
the remembrance of this Joshua stilled the people with 
the terror of the Lord. Joshua, 24 : 19. Let such souls, 
then, as are under troubles and perplexities on any ac- 
count, endeavor to exercise their thoughts about this 
infinite purity and holiness of God ; they will quickly 
find it their wisdom to become as weaned children be- 
fore him, and content themselves with what he shall 
guide them to, which is to. wait for him. This fiery 
holiness streams from his throne, Dan. 7 : 10, and 



° V ~ FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

would quickly consume the whole creation, as now un- 
der the curse and sin, were it not for the interposin. 
of Jesus Christ. ° 

4. His glorious majesty, as the Ruler of all the world 
Majesty relates to government, and it calls us to such an 
awe of him as renders our waiting for him comely and 
necessary. God's throne is said to be in heaven, and 
there principally do the glorious beams of his terrible 
majesty shine forth. But he has also made some repre- 
sentat.on of it on the earth, that we might learn to fear 
before him. Such was the appearance of his glory m 
the giving of the law, whereby he will judge the world 
and condemn the transgressors of it, who obtain not an' 
acquittance in the blood of Jesus Christ. See the de- 
scription of it in Exod. 19 : 16, 18. "So terrible was the 
sight hereof, that Moses himself said, I exceedingly fear 
and quake." Heb. 12 : 21. And what effect it had upon 
all the people is declared, Exod. 20 : IS, 19. They 
were not able to bear it, although they had good assur- 
ance that it was for their benefit that he so drew nigh 
and manifested his glory to them. 

Are we not satisfied with our condition? cannot we 
wait under his present dispensations! Let us think how 
we may approach his presence, or stand before his glo- 
rious majesty. Will not the dread of his excellency & fali 
upon us? Will not his terror make us afraid? Shall 
we not think his way best, and his time best, and that 
our duty is to be silent before him 1 And such mani- 
festation has he made of his glory, as the great Judge 
of all, on the throne, to sundry of the prophets; as to. 
Isaiah, chap. 6:1-4; to Ezekiel, chap. 1 ; to Daniel, 
chap. 7 : 9, 10; to John, Rev. 1. Read these places 



WAITING ON GOD. o x J3 

attentively, and learn to tremble before him. These are 
not things that are foreign to us. This God is our God. 
The same throne of his greatness and majesty is still 
established in the heavens. Let us, then, in the hastes 
and heats to which our spirits in any condition are 
prone, present ourselves before this throne of God, and 
then consider what will be best for us to say or do; 
what frame of heart and spirit will become us, and be 
safest for us. All this glory encompasses us every mo- 
ment, though we perceive it not. And it will be but a 
few days before all the veils and shades that are about 
us shall be taken away and depart. And then shall all 
this glory appear to us, to our endless bliss or everlast- 
ing w r o. Let us therefore know, that nothing in our 
dealings with him doth better become us, than silently 
to w r ait for him, and for what he will speak to us in our 
depths and straits. 

5. It is good to consider the illustrations God has 
given of his infinite greatness, power, majesty and 
glory. Such was his mighty work of creating all things 
out of nothing. We dwell on molehills in the earth, 
and yet w r e know but the least part of the excellency of 
that spot of ground which is given us for our habitation 
here below. But what is it to the whole habitable world, 
and the fulness thereof! And what an amazing thing is 
its greatness, with the wide and large sea, and all sorts 
of creatures therein ! The least of these hath a beauty, 
a glory, an excellency, that the utmost of our inquiries 
end in admiring. And all this is but the earth, the lower 
depressed part of the creation. What shall we say con- 
cerning the heavens over us, and all those creatures of 
light that have their habitation in them] Who can con- 

17* 



394* FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

ceive their beauty, order, use, and course \ The con- 
sideration hereof caused the Psalmist to cry out, M O 
Lord, our Lord, how excellent and glorious art thou!" 
Psalm 8:1. And what is the rise, spring, and cause of 
these things 1 Are they not all the effect of the word 
of the power of this glorious God ! And doth he not in 
them, and by them, speak us into a reverence of his 
greatness 1 

The same also may be said concerning the mighty 
and strange works of Providence in the rule of the 
world. Is not this he who brought the flood of old 
upon the world of ungodly men 1 Is not this he who 
consumed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from heaven, 
setting them forth as examples to those that should 
afterwards live ungodly, suffering the vengeance of 
eternal fire 1 Is it not he who destroyed Egypt with his 
plagues, and drowned Pharaoh with his host in the Red 
Seal Is it not he, one of whose servants slew a hun- 
dred and fourscore and dve thousand in Sennacherib's 
army in one night 1 who opened the earth to swallow 
up Dathan and Abiram! and sent cut fire from the altar 
to devour Nadab and Abihul And have not all ages 
been filled with such instances of his greatness and 
power 1 

The end why I have insisted on these things, is to 
show the reasonableness of the duty we are pressing: 
to wait on God quietly and patiently in every condition 
of distress. For what else becomes us when we have 
to do with this great and holy One 1 

II. This waiting for God respects the whole of the 
condition expressed in the psalm ; and this contains not 



WAITING ON GOD. 395 

only spiritual depths about sin, of which we have large- 
ly spoken, but also providential depths, depths of trouble 
or affliction, that we maybe exercised with in the holy, 
wise providence of God. In reference also to these, 
waiting in patience and silence is our duty. 

And there are two considerations that will assist us 
in this duty when in depths of trouble or affliction. And 
the first of these is, the consideration of those attri- 
butes of God which he exercises in an especial manner 
in all his dealings with us, and which in all our troubles 
we are principally to regard* The second is, the con- 
sideration of ourselves, what we are, and what we have 
deserved. 

Let us begin with the attributes of God displayed 

TOWARD US. 

1. His sovereignty. This he declares, this we are to ac- 
knowledge and submit to, in all the great and dreadful 
dispensations of his providence in his dealings with 
our souls. May he not do what he will with his own % 
Who shall say unto him, What doest thou 1 Or if men 
will do so, what shall give them countenance in their so 
doing 1 He made all this world of nothing, and could 
have made all things quite otherwise than they are. It 
would not subsist one moment without his omnipotent 
•support. Nothing would be continued in its place,, 
course or use, without his effectual influence. If any 
thing can be, live, or act a moment without him, we 
may take free leave to dispute its disposal with him, 
and haste to the accomplishment of our desires $ but, 
from the angels in heaven to the worms of the earth 
and the grass of the field, all depend on him and his 
power continually* Why was this part of the creation 



396 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

an angel, that a worm, this a man, that a brute 1 Is it 
from their own choice, designing or contrivance, or 
brought about by their own wisdom 1 Or is it merely 
from the sovereign pleasure and will of God 1 And what 
madness it is to repine against what he does, seeing all 
things are as he makes them, and disposes them ; nor 
can be otherwise : even the repiner himself has his 
being and subsistence upon his mere pleasure. 

This sovereignty of God Elihu pleads in his dealing 
with Job, chap. 33:8-11. He apprehended that Job 
had reasoned against God's severe dispensations to- 
wards him, and that he did not humble himself under 
his mighty hand wherewith he was exercised, nor wait 
for him in a due manner ; and therefore what does he 
propose to him to bring him to his duty] what does he 
reply to his reasonings and complaints 1 M Behold in this 
thou art not just : I will answer thee ; God is greater 
than man." ver. 12. " Why dost thou strive against him % 
for he giveth not account of any of his matters." ver. 
13. u Be it that in other things thou art just and in- 
nocent, that thou art free from the things wherewith 
thy friends have charged thee ; yet in this thou art not 
just ; it is neither just nor equal that any man should 
complain of, or repine against any of God's dispensa- 
tions : yea, I will suppose these dealings of God are 
very grievous, very dreadful, such as he has, it may be, 
scarcely exercised towards any from the foundation of 
the world ; to be utterly destroyed and consumed in a 
day, in all relations and enjoyments, and that at a time 
when no such thing was looked for or provided against ; 
to have a sense of sin revived on the conscience after 
pardon obtained, be the affliction what it may, yet if 



WAITING ON GOD. 397 

thou complainest, thou art not just." And what reason 
does he give 1 Why, God is greater than man; infinite- 
ly so, in power and sovereign glory ; he is so absolute 
that he giveth no account of any of his matters ; and 
what folly, what injustice is it to complain of his pro- 
ceedings! Consider his absolute dominion over the 
works of his hands, over thyself and all that thou 
hast ) his infinite distance from thee, and greatness 
above thee, and then see whether it be just or not to re- 
pine against what he doeth. And he presses the same 
considerations in chap. 34: 18, 19. If, when kings and 
princes rule in righteousness, it is a contempt of their 
authority to say to them they are wicked and un- 
godly, wilt thou then speak against him, contend with 
him " that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor 
regardeth the rich more than the poor ; for they are all 
the work of his hands V And ver. 29. " When he 
giveth quietness, who can make trouble 1 and when he 
hideth his face, who can behold him] whether it 'be 
done against a nation or against a man only." What- 
ever God doeth, and towards whomsoever, be they 
many or few, a whole nation or city, or one single per- 
son, be they high or low, rich or poor, good or bad, all 
are the works of his hands ; and he may deal with them 
as seems good unto him. And this man alone, as God 
afterwards declares, made use of the right and pro- 
per means to take off Job from complaining, to com- 
pose his spirit to rest and peace, and to bring him to 
wait patiently for God : for whereas his other friends 
injuriously charged him with hypocrisy, and that he 
had m an especial manner above other men deserved 
those judgments of God which he was exercised with ; 



398 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

he who was conscious of his own integrity was only 
provoked and exasperated by their arguings, and stir- 
red up to plead his own uprightness. But this man, al- 
lowing him the plea of his integrity, calls him to the 
consideration of the greatness and sovereignty of God, 
against which there is no rising up. And to this God 
himself afterwards calls him. 

Deep and serious thoughts of God's sovereignty and 
absolute dominion or authority over all the works of 
his hands, are effectual means to bring the soul to this 
duty. Yea, this is that which we are to bring our souls 
to. Let us consider with whom we have to do; are 
not we and all our concerns in his hands, as the clay in 
the hand of the potter 1 and may he not do what he 
will with his own 1 shall we call him to an account 1 is 
not what he does good and holy, because he does it 1 
Do any repining thoughts against the works of God 
arise in our hearts 1 are any complaints ready to break 
out of our mouths ! Let us lay our hands on our hearts, 
and our mouths in the dust, with thoughts of his great- 
ness and absolute sovereignty, and it will work our 
whole souls into a better frame. 

And this extends to the manner, time, and season of 
all things whatever. As in earthly things: if God will 
bring a dreadful judgment of fire upon a people, a na- 
tion : Ah! why must it be London 1 If on London, 
why so terrible, raging, and unconquerable 1 why the 
city, not the suburbs 1 why my house, not my neigh- 
bor's 1 why had such a one help, and I none 1 All these 
things are wholly to be referred to God's sovereign 
pleasure ; there alone can the soul of man find rest and 
peace. It is so in spiritual dispensations also. 



WAITING ON GOD. 399 

Thus Aaron, on the sudden death of his two eldest 
sons, being reminded by Moses of God's sovereignty 
and holiness, immediately held his peace, or quietly 
humbled himself under his mighty hand. Lev. 10 : 3, 4. 
And David, when things were brought into extreme 
confusion by the rebellion of Absalom, followed by the 
ungodly multitude of the whole nation, relinquishes all 
other arguments and pleas and complaints in a resigna- 
tion of himself and all his concerns to the absolute plea- 
sure of God. 2 Sam. 15 : 25, 26. To this in all our ex- 
tremities must we bring our souls before we can attain 
any rest or peace, or the least comfortable persuasion 
that we may not yet fall under greater severities in the 
just indignation of God against us. 

2. The wisdom of God is also to be considered and 
submitted to. " He is wise in heart ; who hath hardened 
himself against him, and prospered ]" Job, 9 : 4. This 
the prophet joins with his greatness and sovereignty. 
Isaiah, 40 : 12-14. tT There is no searching of his under- 
standing." ver. 28. And the apostle closes all his con- 
sideration of the works of God in a holy admiration of his 
knowledge and wisdom, whence his judgment becomes 
y unsearchable, and his ways past finding out." Rom. 
11 : 33, 34. He seeth and knoweth all things, in all their 
causes, effects, consequences and circumstances, in their 
utmost reach and tendency, in their correspondences one 
to another, and suitableness to his own glory, and so 
alone judgeth aright of all things. The wisest of men, as 
David speaks, walk in a shade. We see little, we know 
little, and that but of a very few things, and in an imper- 
fect manner; and of their present appearances, abstract- 
ed from their ends, and relations to other things. And 



400 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

if we would T)e further wise in the works of God, we shall 
be found to be like the wild ass's colt. What is good 
for us or the church of God, what is evil to it or us, 
we know not at all j but all things are open and naked 
to God. 

The day will come, indeed, in which we shall have 
such a prospect of the works of God, see one thing so 
set against another as to find goodness, beauty, and 
order in them all 5 that they were all done in number, 
weight, and measure 5 that nothing could have been 
otherwise, without an abridgment of his glory and the 
disadvantage of them that believe in him. But for the 
present all our wisdom consists in referring all to him. 
He who does these things is infinitely wise ; he knows 
what he does, and why, and what will be the end of all. 
We are apt, it may be, to think at such seasons that all 
things will go to wreck in respect to ourselves, the 
church, or the whole world: how can this breach be 
repaired, this loss made up, this ruin recovered 1 Peace 
is gone, trade is gone, our substance is gone, the church 
is gone, all is gone, confusion and utter desolation lie 
at the door. If a man who is unskilled and inexperienced 
should be at sea, it may be, every time the vessel seems 
to decline on either side he would be apt to conceive 
they should be all cast away ; but yet, if he be not child- 
ishly timorous, when the captain shall tell him there is 
no danger, bid him trust to his skill and it shall be well 
with him, it will yield quietness and satisfaction. We 
are indeed in a storm, the whole earth seems to reel and 
stagger like a drunken man ; but yet our souls may rest 
in the infinite skill and wisdom of the great Pilot of the 
whole creation, who directs all things according to the 



WAITING ON GOP. 4r01 

counsel of his will: "His works are manifold; in wis- 
dom hath he made them all," Psalm 104 : 24, and in the 
same wisdom does he dispose of them : " All these 
things come forth from the Lord of hosts, who is won- 
derful in counsel and excellent in working." Isaiah, 
28 : 29. What is good, meet, useful for us, for ours, 
for the churches, for the city, for the land of our nati- 
vity, he only knows, and of creatures not one. To this 
infinite wisdom of God are we therefore to resign and 
submit ourselves : his hand in all his works is guided 
by infinite wisdom. In thoughts thereof, in humbling 
ourselves thereto, shall we find rest and peace. 

3. The righteousness of God is also to be considered. 
That term in Scripture is used to denote many excel- 
lences of God, all which are reducible to the infinite 
rectitude of his nature. I intend, at present, that which 
is called his righteousness in rule or government. This 
is remembered by Abraham, " Shall not the Judge of 
all the earth do right 1" Gen. 18 : 25. And by the apos- 
tle, f< Is God unjust, who taketh vengeance 1 God for- 
bid." This our souls are to own in all the works of God. 
They are all righteous ; the works of Him who will do 
no iniquity, whose throne is established in judgment. 
However they may be dreadful, grievous, and seem se- 
vere, yet they are all righteous. It is true, he will some- 
times rise up and do strange acts, strange works, Isaiah, 
28 : 21; such as he will not do often, nor ordinarily; 
such as shall fill the world with dread and amazement. 
He will answer his people in terrible things j but yet all 
shall be in righteousness. And to complain of that which 
is righteous, to repine against it, is the highest unrigh- 
teousness. Faith, then, fixing the soul on the righteous- 



402 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

ness of God, is an effectual means to humble it under 
his mighty hand. 

God judgeth not as man judgeih. We judge by the 
seeing of the eye and hearing of the ear, according to 
outward appearances and evidences; but God searcheth 
the heart. We judge upon what is between man and 
man, God principally upon what is between himself and 
man. And what do we know or understand of these 
things 1 what is there in the hearts of men, what pur- 
poses, what contrivances, what designs, what corrupt 
affections, what sins, what transactions have been be- 
tween God and them; what warnings he hath given 
them, what reproofs, what engagements they have made, 
what convictions they have had; to what use they were 
putting their lives, their substance, their families 1 Alas ! 
we know nothing of these things, and so are able to 
make no judgment of the proceedings of God upon 
them ; but this we know, that he is righteous in all hia 
ways, and holy in all his works, yea, in the most terri- 
ble of them. And when the secrets of all hearts shall 
be revealed, ah ! how glorious will be his drowning of 
the old world, firing of Sodom, swallowing up of Dathan 
and Abiram in the earth; the utter rejection of the 
Jews, with all other acts of his providence seeming to 
be accompanied with severity ! And so will he be glo- 
rious in our own trials, inward or outward. 

God is Judge of all the world, all ages, times, places, 
persons ; and disposes of all, so that they may tend to 
the good of the whole and his own glory in the uni- 
verse. Our thoughts are bounded, much more our ob- 
servations and ability to measure things, within a very 
small compass. Every thing stands alone to us, where- 



WAITING ON GOD. 403 

by we see little of its beauty or order, and do not know 
how it ought justly to be disposed of. That particular 
may seem deformed to us, which to His eye, who sees 
all at once, past, present and to come, with all those 
joints and bands of wisdom and order by which things 
are related to one another, is beautiful and glorious. 
For as nothing is of itself, nor by itself, nor to itself, so 
nothing stands alone ; there is a line of mutual influence 
that runs through the creation and every particular of 
it, and that in all its changes and alterations from the 
beginning to the end, which gives it its loveliness, life 
and order. He that can at once see but one part of a 
goodly statue or colossus might think it a very deform- 
ed piece, when he that views it altogether is assured of 
its due proportion, symmetry and loveliness. Now, all 
things, ages and persons, all thus at once are naked to 
the sight of God, and he disposes them with respect to 
the whole, that every one may fill its own place, and 
sustain its part and share in the common tendency of 
all to the same end. 

And hence it is that in public judgments and calami- 
ties God often suffers the godly to be involved with the 
wicked, and that not on account of their own persons, 
but as they are parts of the community which he will 
destroy. This Job expresses somewhat harshly ; but 
there is truth in this assertion, " This is one thing, 
therefore I said it, he destroyeth the righteous with the 
wicked. If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at 
the trial of the innocent." chap. 9 : 22, 23. God in pub- 
lic desolations often takes good and bad together ; a 
sudden scourge involves them all. And this God does 
for sundry reasons $ as. 



404* FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

That he may manifest his own holiness ; which is such 
that he can without the least injustice or oppression, 
even on account of their own provocations, take away 
the houses, possessions, estates, liberties and lives of 
the best of his own saints. For how should a man, any 
man, the best of men, be just with God if he would 
contend with him 1 No man can answer to him one of 
a thousand. Job, 9 : 3. This they will also acknow- 
ledge : on account of righteousness none can open his 
mouth about his judgments without the highest impiety 
and wickedness. 

He does so that his own people may learn to know 
his terror, and to rejoice always before him with trem- 
bling. Therefore Job affirms that in the time of his 
prosperity he was not secure, but still trembled in him- 
self with thoughts of the judgments of God. Doubt- 
less much wretched carnal security would be ready to 
invade and possess the hearts of believers, if God should 
always and constantly pass them by in the dispensation 
of his public judgments. 

Such judgments also become a stone of offence and 
a stumbling-block to wicked men^ who are to be hardened 
in their sins and prepared for ruin. When they see that 
all things fall alike unto all, and that those who have 
made the strictest profession of the name and fear of 
God fare no better than themselves, they are encouraged 
to despise the warnings of God and the strokes of his 
hand, and so to rush on to destruction. 

God does it to proclaim to all the world that what he 
does here is no final judgment and ultimate determina- 
tion concerning things and persons. For who can see 
the wise man dying as the fool, the righteous and holy 



WAITING ON GOD. 405 

perishing in their outward concerns as the ungodly and 
wicked, but must conclude that the righteous God, the 
Judge of all, has appointed another day wherein all 
things must be called over again, and every one then 
receive his final award, according as his works shall ap- 
pear to have been. Thus are we to humble ourselves to 
the righteousness with which the hand of God is al- 
ways accompanied. 

His goodness and grace is also to be considered in all 
the works of his mighty hands. As there is no unrigh- 
teousness in him, so all is good and gracious ; and what- 
ever there is in any trouble, of allay from the utmost 
wrath, is of mere goodness and grace. Thy houses are 
burnt, but perhaps thy goods are saved ; is there no 
grace, no goodness therein'? or perhaps thy substance 
also is consumed, but yet thy person is alive ; and should 
a living man complain % And say what thou wilt, this 
stroke is not hell, which thou hast deserved long ago ; 
yea, it may be a means of preventing thy going thither. 
So this also is accompanied with infinite goodness, pa- 
tience and mercv. And if the consideration will not 
ti 

quiet thy heart, take heed lest a worse thing befall thee. 
These things, amongst others, are we to consider in 
God, to lead our hearts to acquiescence in his will, sub- 
mission under his mighty hand, and a patient waiting 
for the issue. 

II. Consider our mean and abject cox^dition, and our 
infinite distance from Him with whom we have to do. 
When Abraham, the father of the faithful and friend of 
God, came to treat with him about his judgments, he 
does it with the acknowledgment of his condition that 



406 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

he was mere dust and ashes. Gen. 18 : 27. A poor ab- 
ject creature that God at his pleasure had formed out 
of the dust of the earth, and which in a few days was 
to be reduced again to dust. We can forget nothing 
more perniciously than what we are. " Man is a worm," 
saith Bildad, u and the son of man is a worm." Job, 
25 : 6. And therefore says Job himself, "I have said to 
corruption, Thou art my father ; and to the worm, Thou 
art my mother and my sister." chap. 17 : 14. His affini- 
ty, his relation to them is the nearest imaginable ; he is 
no otherwise to be accounted of; and there is nothing 
that God abhors more than an elation of mind in the 
forgetfulness of our mean, frail condition. " Thou say- 
est," said he to the proud prince of Tyrus, "that thou 
art a god, but wilt thou say thou art a god in the hands 
of him that slays thee 1" Ezek. 28 : 9. That severe 
conviction did God provide for his pride. Thou shalt 
be a man, and no god, in the hand of him that slays 
thee. And when Herod prided himself in the acclama- 
tions of the vain multitude, " It is the voice of God and 
not of a man," the angel of the Lord filled that god 
immediately with worms, which slew him and devoured 
him. Acts, 12 : 23. 

There is indeed nothing more effectual to abase the 
pride of the thoughts of men than a due remembrance 
that they are so mean. Hence the Psalmist prays, Psalm 
9 : 20, " Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may 
know themselves to be but men :" in the Hebrew, poor, 
miserable, frail, mortal man. What is man! What is 
his life! what is his strength! Said one — the dream 
of a shadow, a mere nothing ; or as David better says, 
Every man living in his best condition is altogether va- 



WAITING ON GOD. 407 

nity, Psalm 39 : 5 ; and James, Our life (which is our 
best, our all) is but a vapor that appeareth for a little 
time, and then vanisheth away, chap. 4:14. But enough 
has been said by many on this subject. And we that 
have seen so many thousands each week in one city car- 
ried away to the grave, have been taught the truth of 
our frailty even as with thorns and briars.* But I know 
not how it comes to pass, there is not any thing we are 
more apt to forget than what w 7 e ourselves are : and this 
brings men into innumerable sins towards God and one 
another. Thou therefore that art exercised under the 
hand of God in any severe dispensation, and art ready 
on all occasions to fill thy mouth with complaints, sit 
down a little and take a right measure of thyself, and 
see whether this state of mind becomes thee. It is the 
great God against whom thou repinest, and thou art a 
man, and that is a name of a worm, a poor, frail, dying 
worm ; and it may be, whilst thou art speaking thou art 
ready to drop in death. And wilt thou think it meet for 
such a one as thou art to magnify thyself against the 
great possessor of heaven and earth 1 Poor clay ! poor 
dust and ashes ! poor dying worm ! know r thy state and 
condition, and fall down quietly under the mighty hand 
of God. Though thou wranglest with men about thy 
concerns, let God alone. '" The potsherds may contend 
with the potsherds of the earth ; but wo unto him thai 
striveth with his Maker." 

Again, consider that in this frail condition we have 
all greatly sinned against God. So did Job: "I have 

* Referring to the plague of London, A. D. 1665, ' wherein 68,000 
persons are computed to have died. 



408 FORGIVENESS OF SIX. 

sinned, what shall I do unto thee, thou preserver of 
men 1" Job, 7 : 20. If this consideration will not satisfy 
thy mind, yet it will assuredly stop the mouths of all 
the sons of men. Though all the curses of the law 
should be executed upon us, yet every mouth must be 
stopped, because all the world is become guilty before 
God. Rom. 3: 19. " And why should a living man com- 
plain V saith the prophet, Lam. 3 : 39. Why, it may 
be it is because that his trouble is great and inexpressi- 
ble, and such as seldom or never befell any before him ; 
but what then, saith he, tf Shall a man complain of the 
punishment of his sins V If this living man be a sinful 
man, as there is none that liveth and sinneth not, he has 
no ground of murmuring or complaint. For a sinful man 
to complain, especially whilst he is yet a living man, is 
most unreasonable. For, 

1. Whatever has befallen us, it is jusf, because we are 
sinners before God ) and to repine against the judgments 
of God, that are rendered evidently righteous on ac- 
count of sin, is to anticipate the condition of the damned 
in hell, a great part of whose misery it is, that they al- 
ways repine against the sentence and punishment which 
they know to be most righteous and holy. If it were 
now my design to treat of the sins of professors gene- 
rally, how easy were it to stop the mouths of all men 
in respect to their troubles; but that is not my present 
business : I speak to particular persons, and that not 
with a special design to convince them of their sins, 
but to humble their souls. When our souls are ready 
to be entangled with the thoughts of any severe dispen- 
sation of God, and our own particular pressures, trou- 
bles, miseries occasioned thereby, let us turn into our- 



WAITING ON GOD. 409 

selves and take a view every one of his own personal 
provocations. And when we have done so, see what we 
have to say to God, what we have to complain of: let 
the sinner speak. Is not God holy, righteous, wise in 
what he hath done % And if he be, why do we not sub- 
scribe unto his ways, and submit quietly unto his will? 

2. But this is not all: we are not only such sinners 
as to render these dispensations of God evidently holy, 
these judgments of his righteous, but also to manifest 
that they are accompanied with unspeakable patience, 
mercy and grace. To instance in one particular : is it 
the burning of our houses, the spoiling of our goods, 
the ruin of our estates alone that our sins have deserved ? 
If God had made the temporary fire on earth to have 
been to us a way of entrance into the eternal fire of hell, 
we had nothing of which righteously to complain. May 
we not then see a mixture of unspeakable patience, 
grace and mercy in every dispensation! and shall we 
then repine against it ? Is it not a better advice, " Go 
and sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee 1" For a 
sinner out of hell not to rest in the will of God, nor to 
humble himself under his mighty hand, is to make him- 
self guilty of the especial sin of hell. Other sins de- 
serve hell, but this repining against God is a prominent 
sin. The church comes to a blessed, quieting resolution 
in this case, Micah, 7 : 9 5 " I will bear the indignation 
of the Lord, because I have sinned against him ;" bear 
it quietly, patiently, and submit under his hand. 

3. Consider, that of ourselves we are not able to make 
a right judgment of what is best for us, or what tends 
most directly to our highest good. " Surely every man 
walketh in a vain show 5" in the Hebrew, in an image 

Forgiveac39. lo 



410 FOEGIVENESS OF SIN. 

full of false representations of things — in the midst of 
delusive appearances ; so that he knows not what to 
choose or do aright, and therefore spends the most of 
his time and strength about things that are of no bene- 
fit to him. " Surely they are disquieted in vain 5" and 
he gives one special instance : u he heapeth up riches, 
and knoweth not who shall gather them," Psalm 39 : 6, 
which is but one example of the manifold frustrations 
that men meet with in the whole course of their lives, 
as not knowing what is good for them. We all profess 
to aim at one chief, principal end ; namely, the enjoy- 
ment of God in Christ as our eternal reward; and in 
order thereto, to be carried on in the use of the means 
of faith and obedience tending to that end. Now. if this 
be so, the suitableness or unsuitableness of all other 
things, as good or evil to us, is to be measured by their 
tendency to this end. And what know we of this! As 
to the things of this life, do we know whether it will be 
best for us to be rich or poor, to have houses or to be 
harborless, to abound or to want, to leave wealth and 
inheritance to our children, or leave them merely to the 
providence of God ! Do we know what condition will 
most further our obedience, obviate our temptations, or 
call most on us to mortify our corruptions! And if we 
know nothing of these things, as indeed we do not, were 
it not best for us to leave them quietly to God's dispo- 
sal! I doubt not but it will appear at the last day that 
a world of evil in the hearts of men was stifled by the 
destruction of their outward concerns ; that many were 
delivered from temptations by it, who otherwise would 
have been overtaken to their ruin and the scandal of 
the Gospel; that many a secret imposthume has been 



WAITING ON GOD. 411 

lanced and cured by a stroke ; for God does not send 
judgments on his own for judgment's sake, for punish- 
ment's sake, but always to accomplish some blessed de- 
sign of grace towards them. And there is no one soul 
in particular, which shall rightly search itself and con- 
sider its state, but will be able to see wisdom, grace and 
care towards itself in all the dispensations of God. And 
if I would here enter upon the benefits that, through the 
sanctifying hand of God, redound to believers by af- 
flictions, calamities, troubles, distresses, temptations and 
like effects of God's visitations, it would be of use to 
the souls of men in this case. But this subject has been 
so often and so well treated that I shall not here insist 
upon it. I desire only that we should seriously consider 
how r utterly ignorant we are of what is good for us or 
useful to us in these outward things, and so leave them 
quietly to God's disposal. j 

4. We may consider that all these things about which 
we are troubled fall directly within the compass of that 
good word of God's grace, that he will make all things 
work together for the good of them that love him. 
Rom. 8 : 28. All things that we enjoy, all things that 
we are deprived of, all that we do, all that we suffer, 
our losses, troubles, miseries, distresses, which the apos- 
tle instances in the following verses, they shall all work 
together for good ; together with one another, and all 
with and in subordination to the power, grace and wis- 
dom of God. It may be, we see not how or by what 
means it shall be effected , but he is infinitely wise and 
powerful who hath undertaken it, and we know little or 
nothing of his ways. There is nothing that we have, or 
enjoy, or desire, but it has turned out to some to their 



4.12 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

hurt. Eiches have been kept for men to their hurt ; wis- 
dom and high places have been the ruin of many 5 liber- 
ty and plenty are to most a snare ; prosperity slays the 
foolish. And we are not of ourselves, in any measure, 
able to secure ourselves from the hurt and poison that 
is in any of these things, but that they may be our ruin 
also, as they have already been, and every day are, to 
multitudes of the children of men. 

It is enough to fill the soul of any man with horror 
and amazement to consider the ways and plans of most 
of those who are intrusted with this world's goods. Is 
it not evident, that all their lives they seem industrious- 
ly to take care that they may perish eternally 1 Lux- 
ury, riot, oppression, intemperance, and of late especial- 
ly, blasphemy and atheism, they usually give up them- 
selves to ; and this is the fruit of their abundance and 
security. What now, if God should deprive us of all 
these things 1 Can any one certainly say that he is in- 
jured thereby % Might they not have turned to his ever- 
lasting perdition, as they do to thousands as good by 
nature, and who have had advantages to be as wise as 
we 1 And shall we complain of God's dispensations 
about them 1 And what shall we say, when he himself 
has undertaken to make all things work together for 
our goodl Anxieties of mind and perplexities of heart 
about our losses, is not what we are called to in our 
trouble 5 but this is our duty : let us consider whether 
we love God or not, whether we are called according 
to his purpose ; if so, all things are well in his hand, 
who can order them for our good and advantage. I 
hope many a poor soul will from hence, under every 
trouble, be able to say with him that was banished from 



WAITING ON GOD. 413 

his country, and found better entertainment elsewhere, 
" My friends, I had perished, if I had not perished :" had 
I not been undone by fire, it may be I had been ruined 
in eternal fire. God hath made all to work for my good. 

Our design in all this is to evince the reasonableness 
of the duty of waiting on God, which we are pressing 
from the Psalmist's example. Ignorance of God and 
ourselves is the great cause of all our disquiet. And 
this arises mostly, not from want of light and instruc- 
tion, but from want of consideration and application. 
The truths we have argued concerning God are obvious, 
are known to all ; so are those concerning ourselves ; 
but by whom are they employed or improved as they 
ought 1 The frame of our spirits is as though we stood 
upon equal terms with God, and thought, with Jonah, that 
we might do well to be angry with what he doeth. Did 
we rightly consider him, did we stand in awe of him as 
we ought, it had certainly been otherwise with us. 

Having thus shown that Jehovah himself is the pro- 
per object of the soul's waiting in. .the condition describ- 
ed, I shall only add one direction how we may be en- 
abled to perform and discharge this duty aright, which 
we have manifested to have been so necessary, so rea- 
sonable, so prevalent, for obtaining relief. 

III. The word of promise is the soul's great support 
m waiting for God. So saith the Psalmist : " In his 
word do I hope 5" that is, the word of promise. As the 
word in general is the adequate, rule of all our obedi- 
ence to God and communion with him ; so there are es- 
pecial parts of it suited to these especial actings of our 
souls towards him : thus the word of promise, or the 



414 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

promise in the word, is what our faith especially re- 
gards in our hope, trust, and waiting on God, and it is 
suited to answer to the immediate actings of our souls 
therein. From this word of promise, or in other words, 
the promise of God, the soul in its distresses takes en- 
couragement to continue waiting on him. 

The end and use of the promise is to declare, reveal, 
and make known God to believers, what is in an es- 
pecial manner in him and concerning him, which may 
give them encouragement to wait for him. 

The promises are a declaration of the nature of God, 
especially of his goodness, grace, and love. God has 
put an impression of all the glorious excellences of his 
nature in his word, especially as he is in Christ, in the 
word of the Gospel. There, as in a glass, do we behold 
his glory in the face of Jesus Christ. As his commands 
express to us his holiness and his threatenings, his 
righteousness and severity ; so do his promises declare 
his goodness, grace, love and bounty. And in these 
things do we learn all. that we truly know of God 5 that 
is, we know him in his word. The soul, therefore, that 
in this condition is waiting on God, or for God, con- 
siders the representation which he makes of himself and 
of his own nature in the promises, and receives sup- 
port and encouragement in its duty. For if God teach 
us by the promises what he is 5 and what he will be to 
us, we have firm ground to expect from him all the 
fruits of benignity, kindness and love. Let the soul 
frame in itself the idea of God which is exhibited in 
the promises, and it will powerfully prevail with it to 
continue in an expectation of his gracious return ; they 
all expressing goodness, love, patience, forbearance, 



WAITING ON GOD. 415 

long-suffering, pardoning mercy, grace, bounty, with a 
full satisfactory reward. This is the beauty of the Lord 
mentioned with admiration by the prophet : " How 
great is his goodness ! how great is his beauty!" Zech. 
9 : 17 ; which is the great attraction of the soul to ad- 
here constantly to him. Whatever difficulties arise, what- 
ever temptations interpose, or wearisomeness grows up- 
on us in our straits, troubles, trials and desertions, let 
us not entertain such thoughts of God as our own per- 
plexed imaginations may be apt to suggest. This would 
quickly cast us into a thousand complaints, misgivings 
and falls 5 but the remembrance of and meditation on 
God in his promises, as revealed by them, as expressed 
in them, is suited quite to other ends and purposes. 
There appears, yea, gloriously shines forth, that love, 
that wisdom, that goodness, tenderness and grace, 
which cannot but encourage a believing soul to abide 
in waiting for him. 

2. The word of promise not only expresses God's 
nature, as that in which he proposes himself to the 
contemplation of faith, but it also declares his will and 
purpose of acting towards the soul, suitably to his own 
goodness and grace ; for promises are the declarations 
of God's purpose and will to act towards believers in 
Christ Jesus according to the infinite goodness of his 
own nature, and this done in great variety, according 
to the various conditions and wants of those that be- 
lieve. They all proceed from the same spring of in- 
finite grace, but are branched into innumerable particu- 
lar streams, according as our necessities require. To 
these do waiting souls repair for support and encou- 
ragement : their perplexities principally-arise from their 



416 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

misapprehensions of what God is in himself, and of 
what he will be to them ; and whither should they re- 
pair to be undeceived, but to that faithful representa- 
tion which he has made of himself and his will in the 
word of his grace \ u For no man hath seen God at any- 
time ; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom cf 
the Father, he hath declared him." John, 1 : 18. 

Now, the Gospel is nothing but the word of promise 
explained in all the springs, causes and effects of it ; 
thither must we repair to be instructed in this matter. 
The imaginings and reasonings of men's hearts will but 
deceive them in these things. The instructions of 
other men may do so ; nor have they any truth in them, 
further than they may be resolved into the word of 
promise. Here alone they may find rest and refresh- 
ment. The soul of whom we speak, is under troubles, 
perplexities, and distresses, as to its outward condition ; 
pressed with many straits, it may be, on every hand $ 
and as to its spiritual state, under various apprehen- 
sions as to the mind and will of God towards it, as has 
at large been explained. In this condition it is brought 
in some measure to a holy submission to God, and a 
patient waiting for the issue of its trials. In this state 
it has many temptations to, and much working of unbe- 
lief. The whole of its opposition amounts to this, that 
it is neglected of God 5 that its way is hid, and its 
judgment is passed over from him ; that it shall not be 
at present delivered, nor hereafter saved. What course 
can any one advise such a one to for his relief, and to 
preserve his soul from fainting, or deserting the duty 
of waiting on God, but only this, to search and inquire 
what revelation God hath made of himself and his will 



WAITING ON GOD. 417 

in his word"!. And this the promise declares. Here he 
shall find hope, patience, faith, expectation, to be all in- 
creased, comforted, encouraged. Herein lies the duty 
and safety of any in their distresses. Men may bear the 
first impression of any trouble with the strength, cou- 
rage and resolution of their natural spirits ; they may 
for a time support themselves with former experiences, 
and other usual springs and means of consolation ; but 
if their wounds prove difficult to be cured, if they des- 
pise ordinary remedies, if their diseases are of long 
continuance, this is that to which they must betake 
themselves : they must search into the word of pro- 
mise, and learn to measure things, not according to the 
present state and apprehensions of their mind, but ac- 
cording to what God has declared concerning them. 
And there are great excellences in the promises^ when 
hoped in or trusted in, that tend to the establishment 
of the soul m this duty of waiting on God. 

The Divine grace contained in the promises : the 
good will of God in Christ, for help, relief, satisfaction, 
pardon and salvation, is suited to all particular condi- 
tions and wants of the soul. As light arises from the 
sun, and is diffused in the beams thereof to the especial 
use of all creatures, enabled by a seeing faculty to 
make use of it 5 so cometh grace forth from the eter- 
nal good-will of God in Christ, and is diffused by the 
promises, with a blessed suitableness to the condition 
and wants of all believers. There can nothing fall out 
between God and any soul, but there is grace suited to 
it in one promise or another, as clearly and evidently 
as if it were given to the individual particularly and im- 
mediately. This they find by experience, who at any 

18* 



418 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

time are enabled to mix effectually a promise with faith. 

The word of promise has a wonderful, mysterious, 
special impression of God upon it. By it he secretly 
and ineffably communicates himself to believers. When 
God appeared in a dream to Jacob, he awaked and said, 
"God is in this place, and I knew it not." He knew 
God was every where, but an intimation of his especial 
presence surprised him : so is a soul surprised, when 
God opens himself and his grace in a promise unto him. 
It cries out, God is here, and I knew it not. Such a 
near approach of God in his grace it finds, as is accom- 
panied with a refreshing surprisal. 

There is a special engagement of the truth of God in 
every promise. Grace and truth are the two ingredients 
of an evangelical promise. I cannot now stay to show 
wherein this special engagement of truth in the promise 
consists. Besides, it is a thing known and confessed ; 
but it has a special influence to support the* soul, when 
hoped in, in its duty of waiting: for that hope can 
never make ashamed, or leave the soul to disappoint- 
ment, which stays itself on Divine veracity under a spe- 
cial engagement. 

This is the duty which the Psalmist engages himself 
in, as the only way to obtain a comfortable interest in 
forgiveness with God, and all its gracious effects. 



HOPE IN THE LORD REDEMPTION. 419 



CHAPTER XIX. 



LET ALL TRUST IN THE LORD — WITH KIM IS PLENTEOUS 

REDEMPTION. 

The main design of the Psalm aad the improvement 
inade of it by the Psalmist himself having been con- 
sidered, it only remains to notice his appeal to others 
to drink at this fountain and enjoy the same benefits. 

*' Lei Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there 
is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he 
shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities " verses 7, 8. 

u Let Israel hope in the Lord ;" (in the Hebrew, Hope, 
Israel, in Jehovah.) Trust, or expect ) the same word 
with that, verse 5, * f In his word do I hope ;" properly, 
to expect, to look for, which includes hope, and adds 
some further degree of the soul's acting towards God : 
it is an earnest looking after the thing hoped for : hope 
in him, and look up to him, "for" or because, seeing 
that *■ with the Lord there is mercy ," grace, bounty, good- 
ness, good- will. This word is often joined with another, 
and that is, truth ; (in the Hebrew, goodness, or mercy 
and truth.) These are, as it were, constituent parts of 
God's promises. It is goodness, grace, bounty, to pro- 
mise any mercy ; and it is of truth or faithfulness to 
make good what is so promised. The Septuagint com- 
monly renders this word by eleos, that is, pardoning mer- 
cy, as it is every where used in the New Testament. 

M And with him is plenteous redemption ;" as before, 
" with thee" speaking unto God, verse 4$ the meaning 



420 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

of which expression has been opened at large. Redemp- 
tion^ from the Hebrew to redeem: this word is often 
used for a proper redemption, such as is made by the 
intervention of a price, and not a mere deliverance to 
liberty by power, which is sometimes also called re- 
demption. Thus it is said of the money that the first- 
born of the children of Israel which were above the 
number of the Levites, were redeemed with 5 that Moses 
took, in the Hebrew, the redemption, that is, the re- 
demption-money, the price of their redemption. Numb. 
3 : 49, and Psalm 49 : 8. The redemption of men's souls 
is precious 3 it cost a great price. The redemption, then, 
that is with God, relates to a price ; goodness or mercy 
with respect to a price, becomes redemption, that is, 
actively the cause or means of it. What that price is, 
see in Matt. 20 : 28 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 18. 

" Plenteous redemption ; in the Hebrew, much, abun- 
dant, plenteous. It is used both for quantity and quali- 
ty 3 much in quantity, or abundant ] and in quality pre- 
cious, excellent. It is applied both in a good and a bad 
sense : so it is said of our sins, Ezra, 9:6; (Hebrew, 
our sins are increased or multiplied, or are great ;) many 
in number, and heinous in their nature or quality. And 
in the other sense it is applied to the mercy of God, 
whereby they are removed ; it is great or plenteous, it 
is excellent or precious. 

M And He" that is, the Lord Jehovah ; he with whom 
is plenteous redemption, shall redeem, (in the Hebrew,) 
or make them partakers of that redemption that is with 
him. He shall redeem Israel, that is, those who hope 
and trust in him. 

"From all his iniquities" (in the Hebrew, his iniqui- 



HOPE IN THE LORD — REDEMPTION. 421 

ties,) that is, of the elect Israel, and every individual 
amongst them. But the word signifies trouble as well 
as sin, especially the trouble or punishment that is for 
sin. So Cain expresses himself upon the annunciation 
of his sentence : (in the Hebrew, my sin, that is, the 
punishment thou hast denounced against my sin, is too 
great or heavy for me to bear,) Gen. 4 : 13. There is 
a near affinity between sin and trouble ; punishment is 
inseparable from iniquity. Then the word here used 
signifies, either sin with reference to trouble due to it, 
or trouble with respect to sin whence it proceeds. And 
both may well be here intended. God shall redeem 
Israel from all his sins, and troubles that have ensued 
thereon. 

These words close up the psalm. He who began 
with depths, his own depths, of sin and trouble, out of 
which and about which he cried unto God, is so encou- 
raged by the prospect of grace and forgiveness with 
God, which by faith he had obtained, as to preach to 
others, and to support them also in expectation of de- 
liverance from all their sin and trouble. 

And such for the most part are all exercises and 
trials of the children of God. Their entrance may be a 
storm, but their close is a calm. Their beginning is 
ofttimes trouble, but their latter end is peace ; peace to 
themselves, and advantage to the church of God. For 
men in all ages coming out of great trials of their own, 
have been the most instrumental for the good of others. 
For God does not greatly try any of his children, but 
with some especial end for his own glory. 

The sense and intent of the Psalmist in these words 
resolves itself into three general parts : 



4£2 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

An exhortation or admonition : "Israel, hope in the 
Lord," or expect Jehovah. 

A ground of encouragement to the performance of 
the duty exhorted to : " because with the Lord there is 
much, plenteous, abundant, precious redemption. " 

A gracious promise of a precious issue which shall 
be given to the performance of this duty: "He shall 
redeem Israel from all his sins, and out of all his 
troubles." 

1. In the exhortation we notice, 

The persons exhorted ; that is, Israel ; not Israel ac- 
cording to the flesh. For "they are not all Israel who 
are of Israel." Rom. 9:6. It is the Israel mentioned, 
Psalm 73 : 1, the whole Israel of God, to whom he is 
good, such as are of a clean heart \ that is, all those 
who are interested in the covenant, and do inherit the 
promise of their forefathers, who were first called by 
that name; all believers: the Psalmist treats them all 
in general in this matter. 

There are none of them but have their trials and en- 
tanglements about sin, more or less. As there is none 
that liveth and sinneth not, so there is none that sin- 
neth and is not perplexed and troubled. Perhaps they 
are not all in the same condition with him, in the depths 
that he has plunged into. Yet, more or less, all and 
every one of them is so far concerned in sin as to need 
his direction. All the saints of God either have been, 
or are, or may be in these depths. It is a good saying 
of Austin on this place : None so in the deep as they 
who do not cry and call out of the deep. They are in 
a deep of security, who are never sensible of a deep 
of sin. 



HOPE IS THE LORD— REDEMPTION. 423 

There are none of them, whatever their present con* 
dition be, but may fall into like depths with those of the 
Psalmist. There is nothing absolutely in the covenant, 
nor in any promise, to secure them from it. What be- 
falls any one believer, may befall them all. They may 
fall into depths of sin ; that some of them have done so, 
we have testimonies and instances beyond expectation. 
It is good, then, that all of them should be prepared for 
the duty which all may stand in need of, and for a right 
discharge of it. Besides, the duty mentioned is not con- 
fined to the condition before described, but is proper 
in all circumstances j therefore are all the Israel of 
God exhorted to it. 

The duty is hoping in Jehovah, with such a hope cr 
trust as has an expectation of relief joined with it. 
This duty implies the renunciation of hope of deliverance 
either from sin or trouble in any other way : Hope in Je- 
hovah. This is frequently expressed, where the per- 
formance of this duty is mentioned ; see Hos. 14 : 3 ; Jer. 
3 : 22, 23. And we have declared the nature of it, in 
the exposition of the first and second verses. It also 
implies expectation from him ; and this also hath been 
insisted on in the observations from the verses immedi- 
ately preceding, wherein also the whole nature of this 
duty was explained, and directions were given for the 
performance of it. 

2. The encouragement to this duty, for " with the 
Lord is plenteous redemption." 

Observe what it is that he professes as the great en- 
couragement to the duty mentioned, namely, redemp- 
tion, the redemption that is with God ; the same with 
the forgiveness before mentioned j mercy, pardon, be- 



424 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

nignity, bounty. He does not bid them hope in the 
Lord because they were the seed of Abraham, the pecu- 
liar people of God, made partakers of privileges above 
all the people in the world 5 much less because of their 
worthiness in themselves; but merely on account of 
mercy in God. The mercy of God, and the redemption 
that is with him, is the only ground to sinners for hope 
and confidence. 

Two points should be noticed in this grace, the one 
expressed, the other implied in the words. The first 
is, that it is plenteous ■, abundant. What principally dis- 
courages distressed souls from a comfortable waiting on 
God is, their fears lest they should not obtain mercy 
from him, and that because their sins are so great and 
so many, or attended with such aggravations, that it 
is impossible they should find acceptance with God. 
This ground of despondency and unbelief the Psalmist 
obviates, by representing the fulness, the plenty, the 
boundless plenty of the mercy in God. It is such 
as will suit the condition of the greatest sinners in their 
greatest depths ; the stores of its treasures are inex- 
haustible. And the force of the exhortation lies not so 
much in this, that there is redemption with God, as 
that this redemption is plenteous or abundant. 

Here is also an intimation in the word itself, of the 
relation which the goodness and grace of God have to 
the blood of Christ ; '"whence it is called redemption. 
This, as was shown, has respect to a price ; the price 
whereby we are bought, that is, the blood of Christ. 
This is that whereby a way is made for the exercise of 
mercy towards sinners ; redemption, which properly 
denotes actual deliverance, is said to be with God, or 



HOPE IN THE LORD — REDEMPTION. 4-25 

in him, as the effect in the cause. The causes of it are 
his own grace, and the blood of Christ, prepared for the 
redeeming of believers from sin and trouble unto his 
own glory. And herein lies the encouragement that the 
Psalmist proposes to the performance of the duty exhort- 
ed to, namely, to wait on God. It is taken from God 
himself, as all encouragements to sinners to draw nigh 
unto him, and to wait for him, must be. Nothing but 
himself can give us confidence to go to him. And it is 
suited to the state of the soul under consideration. 
Redemption and mercy are suited to give relief from 
sin and misery. 

3. We have a promise of the gracious result of the 
performance of this duty. " He shall redeem his people 
from all their iniquities." Two things are observable 
in the words. 

The certainty of the issue or event of the duty men- 
tioned ; in the Hebrew, he shall, or will redeem \ he 
will assuredly do so. Now, though this in the Psalmist 
is given out by revelation, and is a new promise of God, 
yet, as it relates to the condition of the soul here ex* 
pressed, and the discovery made by faith of forgiveness 
and redemption with God, the certainty intended in this 
assertion is built upon the principles before laid down. 

This conclusion is drawn from the nature of God. 
There is forgiveness and redemption with him, and he 
will act towards his people suitably to his own nature. 
There is redemption with him, and therefore he will re- 
deem ; forgiveness with him, and therefore he will for- 
give. As the conclusion is certain and infallible, that 
wicked men, ungodly men, shall be destroyed, because 
God is righteous and holy, his righteousness and holi- 



426 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

ness indispensably requiring their destruction 5 so are the 
redemption and salvation of all that believe certain, be- 
cause there is forgiveness with him ; he is good and 
gracious, and ready to forgive ; his goodness and grace 
require their salvation. And the conclusion is certain, 
on account of God's faithfulness in his promises. He 
hath promised, that those who wait on him shall not be 
ashamed 5 that their expectation shall not be disappoint- 
ed ] whence the conclusion is certain, that in his time 
and way they shall be redeemed. 

Observe also the extent of this deliverance or redemp- 
tion : "Shall redeem Israel from, all their iniquities." 
It was showed in the opening of the verse, that this 
word denotes either sin-procuring trouble, or trouble 
procured by sin 3 and there is a respect both to sin and 
its punishment: from both, from all of both kinds, God 
will redeem his Israel. Not this or that evil, this or 
that sin, but from all evil, all sin : he will take all sin 
from their souls, and wipe all tears from their eyes. 
God is said to do this on many accounts. He does it 
on account of the great cause of all actual deliverance 
and redemption, the blood of Christ. He hath laid an 
assured foundation of the whole work $ the price of re- 
demption is paid, and they shall in due time enjoy the 
effects and fruits of it. And this is the actual communi- 
cation of the effects of that redemption to them. This 
is sure to all the elect of God, to his whole Israel. 
They shall all be made partakers of it. This is the end 
of all the promises of God, and of the grace and mercy 
promised in them ; namely, that they should be means 
to exhibit to believers that redemption which is pur- 
chased and prepared for them. This is done partially, 



HOPE IN THE LORD— REDEMPTION. 427 

initially and gradually, in this life. Here God gives 
them the pardon of their sins, being justified freely by 
his grace 5 and in his sanctiiication of them through his 
Spirit, gives them deliverance from the power and do- 
minion of sin. Many troubles he also delivers them 
from, and from all as far as they are penal. And it will 
be done completely when he shall have freed them from 
sin and trouble, and from all the effects and con- 
sequences of sin, by bringing them to the enjoyment 
of himself in glory. 

The words being thus explained, we may briefly con- 
sider what they express concerning the stale or actings 
of the soul represented in this psalm. 

Having himself attained to the state before described, 
and being engaged resolvedly in the performance of 
the duty which would assuredly bring him into the 
haven of rest and peace, the Psalmist applies himself to 
the residue of the Israel of God, to give them encou- 
ragement to this duty with himself, from the experience 
he had of a blessed success therein. As if he had said 
to them, " Ye are now in afflictions, and under troubles, 
and that on account of your sins and provocations : a 
condition, I confess, sad and deplorable 5 but yet there 
is hope for Israel concerning these things. For con- 
sider how it hath been with me, and how the Lord hath 
dealt with me. I was in depths inexpressible, and saw 
for a while no way or means of delivery : but God hath 
been pleased graciously to reveal himself to me, as a 
God pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin ; and in 
the consolation and support which I have received 
thereby, I am waiting for a full participation of the 



428 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 

fruits of his love. Let me therefore prevail with you, 
who are in a like condition, to adopt the same course 
with me. Only let your expectation be fixed with mer- 
cy and sovereign grace, without regard to any privilege 
or worth in yourselves. Rest in the plenteous redemp- 
tion, those stores of grace which are with Jehovah, and, 
according to his faithfulness in his promises, he will 
deliver you out of all perplexing troubles. 

It only remains to close this treatise by briefly naming 
a few doctrinal truths which grow out of the subject. 

1. The Lord Jehovah is the only hope for sin-dis- 
tressed souls : Tt Hope in the Lord." This hath been 
sufficiently discovered and confirmed on sundry passa- 
ges in the psalm. 

2. The ground of all hope and expectation of relief 
in sinners is mere grace, mercy and redemption. "Hope 
in the Lord, for with him there is redemption. " All 
other grounds of hope are false and deceiving. 

3. Inexhaustible stores of mercy and redemption are 
needful for the encouragement of sinners to rest and 
wait on God : tf With him is plentiful redemption." 
Such is your misery, so pressing are your fears and dis- 
tresses, that nothing less than boundless grace can re- 
lieve or support you \ there are therefore such treasures 
and stores in God as are suited to your necessities: 
?t With him is plenteous redemption." 

4. The ground of all the dispensation of mercy, good- 
ness, grace and forgiveness to sinners, is laid in the 
blood of Christ. Hence it is here called redemption. 

5. All that wait on God on account of mercy and 
grace, shall have an undoubted issue of peace : rf He 



HOPE IN THE LORD — REDEMPTION. 429 

shall redeem Israel." Let him, saith God, lay hold of 
my arm that he may have peace, and he shall have 
peace. Isaiah, 27 : 5. 

6. Mercy given to them that wait on God shall, in the 
close and issue, be every way full and satisfying : " He 
shall redeem his people from all their iniquities," 

These propositions arise from the words as absolutely 
considered in themselves. If we mark their relation to 
the peculiar condition of the soul represented in this 
psalm, they will yet afford us the ensuing observations: 

Observation 1. They who out of depths have by faith 
and waiting on God obtained mercy, or are supported 
in waiting for a sense of mercy and forgiveness, are fit- 
ted, and only they are fitted, to preach and declare grace 
and mercy to others. This was the case with the Psalm- 
ist. Upon emerging out of his own depths and straits, 
he declares the mercy and redemption, whereby he was 
delivered, unto the whole Israel of God. 

Observation 2. A saving participation of grace and 
forgiveness leaves a deep impression of its fulness and 
excellency on the soul of a sinner ; so was it here with 
the Psalmist. Having himself obtained forgiveness, he 
knows no bounds or measure, as it were, in extolling it. 
There is with God mercy, redemption, plenteous re- 
demption, redeeming from all iniquity ; I have found it 
so, and so will every one who shall believe it. 



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